Learn the Ropes and Prove You Belong
by OriginalBlayze
Summary: Blaine has always wanted to be a WWE Superstar, but his sister Kaitlyn is living his dream. After a chance opportunity, BB has a stronger desire to make it into WWE and make his dream a reality with help from various Superstars along the way. Watch BB's journey unfold including all his ups and downs as he attempts to become successful in WWE.
1. Reigniting a Dream

**Hello all! I took this story off because I didn't like where I started with it, but after thinking about it, I got another idea and newfound motivation to write this story. Hopefully you guys will like it. Here it is!**

* * *

July 2005:

"This is Monday Night Raw. I'm Good 'Ole JR, Jim Ross alongside Jerry 'The King' Lawler. We are live in Las Vegas, Nevada." The TV was blaring.

Thirteen year old Blaine Bryce-Michael (or BB to most people) Bonin is sitting on the couch watching intently as the show gets started. Being born in Oklahoma City, his mother died when he was five and his father became an alcoholic and was abusive to him and his older brother Chance—who was fifteen. Blaine and Chance moved to Houston and were adopted by his aunt and uncle about three months ago after the courts found their father unfit to take care of the two teenage boys (among other reasons). BB's cousin, Kaitlyn, was very excited that she was gaining two younger brothers. BB was excited too because even though him and Kaitlyn were five years apart, they always tried to hang out together whenever possible. It was like BB and Kaitlyn were brother and sister before becoming brother and sister. BB idolized Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn was very protective of BB.

"Come on, Blaine. Don't you have homework or something more productive to do?" A voice asks. BB turns to the kitchen to see Kaitlyn standing in the doorway. "I mean every Monday is the same thing. You come home after track and doing all those damn flips on a mat, shower real quickly, and plop your butt on the couch and watch RAW." Kaitlyn says sitting next to BB and watches along for a second. At the moment, John Cena is standing in the middle of the ring, talking about his opponent at the next pay- per-view. Chance walks into the room and sees that RAW is on and laughs.

"Kaitlyn you know it's a lost cause. Blaine always watches RAW and has been religiously for at least two or three years. Remember when Mike took me and Blaine to a WWE show in Houston?" Chance asks Kaitlyn who smiles at the memory.

"How could I forget? You both got a picture with Shawn Michaels and Blaine got Bret Hart's sunglasses. He wore those damn things for a good two weeks straight." Kaitlyn says as her and Chance laugh. Raw is on a commercial when BB turns to his two older siblings.

"And I still have those glasses. You know one day, I would love to be a wrestler and maybe even be a wrestler in the WWE. What do you think?" BB asks. Kaitlyn and Chance look at each other and shrug.

"You know what? If that's your dream, then that's awesome little brother." Chance says sitting next to BB and pats his shoulder.

"I say go for it. Nobody can tell you no. All you gotta do is work at it." Kaitlyn says.

"That explains Blaine begging dad to let him take gymnastics. He wants to be a regular Rey Mysterio." Chance remarks as RAW comes back on and the bell rings.

"The following contest is scheduled for ONE FALL."

* * *

 _Five Years Later:_

"You know that I hate you so much right now." BB says sitting in the car as Kaitlyn drives down the Florida road. Kaitlyn shakes her head and turns down the radio.

"I do. You've only said "I hate you" like twenty-six times since we landed in Florida." Kaitlyn replies before looking down on the brace on BB's knee. "How's the knee?" Kaitlyn asks comfortingly. BB looks down and sighs.

"Still kind of hurts like a bitch, but the pain is manageable. I still don't see why I needed surgery. It wasn't that bad." BB replies pouting.

"Stop being such a baby. A minor ACL tear is still a tear." Kaitlyn says. BB leans his head back on the seat.

"Yeah that minor ACL tear cost me seven months of my gymnastics career. Not to mention my gymnastics scholarship. Not to mention I had to drop out of the University of Oklahoma before I even started. Ugh." BB says looking out the window. BB starts to perk up a bit when he sees the location they were driving towards.

"Katie...we're almost there!" BB says getting excited as they get closer to Florida Championship Wrestling—the developmental territory of the WWE.

"Calm down, Blaine. You are aware that I'm the one signing the contract today...not you, right?" Kaitlyn asks laughing. BB immediately starts pouting again.

"Yeah don't remind me. You are living my dream right now." BB says as the car pulls into the parking lot.

"You tried wrestling, remember? You lasted two months your freshman year of high school and then you quit." Kaitlyn says reminding BB.

"The coach was a dick. The teammates were assholes. The schedule was going to conflict with gymnastics and track anyways. I made the right choice." BB replies folding his arms and smirking.

"Alrighty, Good Ole BB, we're here. Now would you have any problem just staying outside in the gym area while they talk to me?" Kaitlyn says as they both get out of the car. BB shook his head no.

"Of course not. Maybe I'll get lucky and one of the coaches or trainers will be impressed with me and offer me a contract." BB replies laughing. Kaitlyn pats her brother's back and they walk into the building.

Later, as Kaitlyn is negotiating and signing her contract, BB is looking around the facility (after being threatened to be thrown out) and watching the upcoming WWE Superstars train. In one ring, BB sees Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater working on some moves. He recognizes a few more people walking around. Over the years, BB tried to keep up with WWE whenever he could, but sports and jobs took up most of his time even though he made sure to make time for Raw at least every other Monday. BB keeps looking around in amazement that he doesn't realize it when he walks into somebody.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" BB asks the girl he just knocked over.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Are you new here? My name's April or AJ for short." The girl...AJ...says shaking BB's hand.

"I'm Blaine or BB for short. I'm not training here. My sister is in there right now talking with the higher ups and signing her contract. Kind of jealous of her, though." BB sighs.

"Is she living your dream pretty much?" AJ asks. BB nods in return. "Don't worry about it. If you wanna be up here bad enough, you'll find a way to achieve your dream. I've gotta go, but it's nice to meet you." AJ says walking away. Moments later, Kaitlyn walks out of a room with two men following behind her. Kaitlyn spots BB and walks over to him.

"How was it?" BB asked.

"I was actually pretty nervous. I mean Triple H is a little intimidating." Kaitlyn says pointing over to the guy in the suit who was talking to an older guy in cowboy boots. "The older guy, Mr. Rhodes, oversees some of the training here." Kaitlyn says.

"So when do you actually start training?" BB asks.

"They want me to start next Monday. So I have about two weeks to find a place to live and get my stuff moved down here." Kaitlyn replies.

"Damn. It looks like we have some work to do." BB says smiling. Kaitlyn smiles back and turns to the door before snapping right back to BB.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Kaitlyn asks.

"Do you really think I would let you do this alone? Come on Katie, I won't be a bother I promise. It'll be an awesome chance for a new start...for both of us. Please please PLEASE?" BB asks grabbing Kaitlyn's arm and jumping up and down. Kaitlyn starts laughing.

"Oh alright, you can move to Florida with me; YOU have to ask mom and dad to see if it's ok." Kaitlyn says giving in. BB cheers and hugs his sister as they leave FCW.

* * *

Three weeks later, BB is sitting in the apartment that him and Kaitlyn share waiting for her to get home. When they returned to Texas, BB's parents weren't happy that BB wanted to move to Florida with Kaitlyn, but the surrendered and let him as long as Kaitlyn keeps a close eye on him and if BB doesn't cause trouble for his sister.

"Is the ice bag ready?" Kaitlyn asks rubbing her neck and sitting on the couch. BB runs to the freezer and gets the ice bag for Kaitlyn.

"Tough day training again?" BB asks giving Kaitlyn the ice bag.

"A little bit. It gets easier the more you do it, but it still hurts like a bitch." Kaitlyn replies sitting back on the couch.

"On the bright side, the more training you get and better you get the sooner you get to be on TV." BB says sitting next to Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn starts to doze off, but quickly wakes up when she remembers something.

"Hey Blaine, how would you feel about coming to Miami with me Monday for RAW?" Kaitlyn asks. BB looks over at Kaitlyn and wonders why she wants him to go.

"Umm. Sure, but won't I have to have a ticket to get in?" BB asks.

"Not this case. Triple H came down to FCW and was looking for someone to fill a particular part. Nobody in FCW at the moment fit the role. Then Paul remembered that I had a little brother, so he asked me about you and wondered if you wanted to do it." Kaitlyn says.

"Hell yes! I wanna do it. What kind of question is that?" BB asks getting excited.

Kaitlyn starts laughing at her brother's excitement. "Apparently a formality because I knew how happy you'd get so I told him you would do it."

"Why did he pick me over men who already contracted? Is it because I'm smart?" BB asks and Kaitlyn shakes her head no. "Because I'm energetic?" Kaitlyn says no again. "Because I'm good looking?" Kaitlyn says no again. "Then why in the hell was I picked?" BB asked getting annoyed.

"It was because you speak French." Kaitlyn admits.

"Wait. Because I speak French? What in the world do they need somebody to speak French?" BB asks getting confused. He's been speaking French since he was six because of his grandparents, but he didn't understand why they needed-much less wanted-him.

Kaitlyn shrugs. "Hell if I know. They have their reasons for why they need what they need. You'll find out Monday night."

"Wait! What was the other reason?" BB asked cautiously. Kaitlyn looked around trying to avoid the question. "KATIE!"

"Alright! It was because you looked like you were underage."

"Underage?"

"…yeah."

"Gee…I feel so special now!"

"Don't be sad, Blaine. He said more along the lines of 'you look very young for your age'."

"I guess that means you told him I was eighteen and he didn't believe you so I got the job." Blaine remarked.

"BINGO!" Kaitlyn answered resting the back of her head on the couch. BB rolls his eyes and sits on the couch next to Kaitlyn.

* * *

Monday afternoon, BB and Kaitlyn reached the arena. After entering the arena, they are greeted by Triple H.

"Hello Kaitlyn." Triple H says before turning to BB. "You must be Blaine, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Blaine had a star struck look in his eyes as he nervously shook Triple H's hand. "Umm…It's n-nice to m-meet you too." BB stuttered out before blushing.

"Blaine is a little nervous as you can see." Kaitlyn steps in trying to save face for BB.

"It's alright. It can be really intimidating to walk into this environment…especially at eighteen." Triple H says trying to make BB feel a little more at ease.

"Now Blaine, if you can follow me I can get you fully informed on what you will be doing." Triple H says motioning for BB to follow him. BB looks to Kaitlyn who gives him an encouraging smile. BB takes a deep breath and follows Triple H. After walking for a moment, Hunter walks him into a room where there is a woman stretching.

"Blaine, this is Gail Kim. She will be the main person you work with tonight for RAW. If you have any questions feel free to ask Gail or myself." Hunter says as he walks out of the room leaving Gail and BB alone. Gail walks over to BB and smiles.

"Blaine is it?" Gail asks. BB nods nervously. "It's nice to meet you. You look a little nervous."

"What gave it away?" BB asks stammering on his words. Gail laughs and pats him on the back.

"For one, you are shaking like a leaf. Two, you are starting to sweat. Thank god that they have found something for you to wear to look more like what they want." Gail replies pointing to the collar on BB's shirt.

"What exactly do they want me to be?" BB asks still not knowing what exactly he was supposed to do. Gail walks over to a bench and grabs a bundle of papers...which BB assumed to be a script or some type of notes. She walks back to BB, flips to a specific page and points to a line.

"You see right here. That's where you come in. You will be working a segment with me. Now you will..." Gail started explaining to BB. BB kept looking from Gail to the papers and back to Gail. _"Holy shit. What am I getting myself into? Will I be able to actually do this?"_ BB thought as Gail kept explaining.

Over the course of a few hours, Gail escorted him around the arena helping him get ready and introducing him to a few of the superstars. After a while, BB started to calm down slightly and avoid passing out. Soon after, RAW began and the backstage area turned into what BB would call a madhouse. BB was in complete amazement over everything from the wrestlers preparing and other wrestlers watching the show. BB was watching the show on a monitor near the make-up ladies when Gail came up from behind him—making him jump.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, but our part is coming up and we need to get ready. Follow me." Gail said motioning for BB to follow her towards a dark blue backdrop. Gail turns to BB and hands him a camera.

"Alright. This is how it's going to work, you will be a photographer doing a photo shoot with me until..." Gail explains as BB nods and prepares for his appearance. Gail walks over to the backdrop and gives him instructions.

"Now when we start going, don't hesitate. You will take a few pictures of me and keep directing me until we get interrupted. And CALM DOWN! You look like you are about to pass out." Gail says laughing. BB nods as the cameraman arrives.

"Get ready. We go live in one minute. Are you ready?" The cameraman asks. BB and Gail turn to him and nod. BB starts trying to calm himself down by taking as deep of breaths as he can. "OK...we start in three...two...one." He says as they start.

"Alright Gail, turn a little towards me. That's great. Hold it right there for a second." BB says as he snaps a couple of pictures of Gail. "I'm surprised I didn't start stuttering. So far, so good." BB thought.

"Now if you can move your hip this way we can..." BB says before getting interrupted.

"Aww isn't this cute. Gail, I didn't know you were giving to charity." The blonde diva, Maryse says laughing. Gail and BB walk over to Maryse.

"What do you mean charity?" Gail asks. Maryse pats Gail on the shoulder and points to BB.

"I mean seriously, this little brat is taking your pictures." Maryse says condescendingly before turning to BB.

"Voilà mignon. Ils ont laissé les petits enfants font semblant d'être des photographes. Peut-être que vous devriez retourner à l'aire de jeux où vous appartenez." (That's cute. They let little kids pretend to be photographers. Maybe you should go back to the playground where you belong.). Maryse says laughing hysterically. "You probably don't understand a word I said, little boy. I think your mommy is calling you." BB's eyes go wide before smirking at Maryse.

"Ohh…ok. Vous êtes très drôle. Puisque nous parlons appartenant ... peut-être vous devriez revenir à la red-light district où vous appartenez." (You are very funny. Since we are talking about belonging...maybe you should go back to the red-light district where YOU belong.) BB says smiling before whispering to Gail what he said, which got Gail laughing. Maryse gets visibly angry and gets face to face with BB.

"Bastard." Maryse says before reaching back and slapping BB in the face, shoving Gail, and walking away.

Gail gets mad and starts screaming at Maryse. "I'll see you tonight. You're going to pay." As Gail finishes screaming at Maryse, the cameraman motions that they are done and the camera stops rolling.

"Are you alright? That was a pretty decent slap." Gail says as BB holds his cheek and nods.

"I'm good. I haven't spit any of my teeth out yet. I didn't think that would smart as much as it did. Thank you so much for your help, Gail, I really appreciate it." BB says hugging Gail.

"Don't mention it. When you got over being nervous, you looked like a natural out there." Gail replies. When Gail said that, something clicked in BB's head. _"A natural, huh? Maybe it's possible that I can do this. I mean wouldn't it be awesome if me and Kaitlyn could both be WWE Superstars? Maybe I can get some advice from Gail."_ BB thought.

"Gail, I have a question for you. Could you give some advice for somebody who really wants to get into the business?" BB asks. Gail smiles at BB.

"So you want to be a WWE Superstar?" Gail asks as BB nods. "Now what I would recommend is to go to a wrestling school. After getting finished with your training, you should gain more experience by competing on the independent level. Maybe after a few years, me and you can be tagging together." Gail says patting BB on the back and walking away. BB stood there for a moment, thinking about what Gail said. _"Gail's right, if I want to wrestle for WWE, I really need to learn how to wrestle. This was an amazing experience that I want to do again. Sooner or later, I WILL be back in the WWE_." BB thought as he tries to find Kaitlyn.

After five minutes of searching the arena—and three wrong turns—he found Kaitlyn talking with a production guy next to the women's locker room. Kaitlyn spots him and puts him in a headlock.

"Hey, little brother. You did pretty good out there. Didn't look nervous one bit." Kaitlyn says laughing and letting him go.

"You thought so? It was pretty fun…well besides the getting slapped part, but it was still fun." BB said with excitement while holding his cheek. Kaitlyn moved BB's hand and saw a subtle bruise starting to form. Kaitlyn smirked while pulling out her phone and taking a picture. "What are you doing?"

"Showing you your first battle scar. I guess getting slapped by a diva is a pretty good way to make your WWE debut." Kaitlyn says laughing while turning the phone around to show BB the picture. Seeing the small bruise on his face just solidified exactly what he had been thinking about all night.

"What a story that will make. Katie, I've decided. I'm going to try again with the pro wrestling dream. I don't know how and I don't know when, but I will be back as a superstar in WWE."

Kaitlyn smiled at the determination in BB's eyes. She knew he had what it takes to achieve his dream, but she also knew that her brother had confidence issues. If he wants to make it into WWE, that will be his biggest obstacle to overcome.

* * *

 **Here is Chapter 1! BB got a small taste of his ideal career. Hopefully he can make it happen! We'll find out a little bit more in the next Chapter!**


	2. Close to a Dream (Bonin Reunion)

**_Here is Chapter 2! An early gift from me to you all. Thank you for reading and enjoying the story_**

* * *

 _Four Years Later:_

BB was driving his car down the street when he came upon the place he had been excited…and nervous to see—the WWE Performance Center. When he pulled into the parking lot and parked his car, his phone started ringing. BB looked at his phone and smirked at who it was.

"Looks like I'm not a stranger to the danger. How are you doing?" BB asked to the person.

" _How am I doing? How are YOU doing? I had to hear from Gail that you are in Florida for a WWE tryout."_

"You knew I was attempting to get into WWE."

" _Yeah, but I didn't know that you got the call back. Why didn't you tell me, you little shit?"_

"I didn't want to get anybody's hopes up. I only told you and Gail about it. I'm honestly surprised they were impressed with that video. The stuff was at least two years old."

" _If they weren't impressed with your tryout video, they wouldn't have called you back today to meet with you for a second tryout."_ The voice says.

"I know, but I'm still a little nervous. I just don't wanna step on anybody's toes because I'm still considered a newbie by some people's standards. It's been a few months since I got released." BB says over the phone as he sits in his car looking out the window.

" _So what? Newbie or veteran, they don't give a fuck where anybody's been in their past…well for the most part, but you have nothing to worry about. They really want people who have a special something they can offer. They wouldn't have called you back if they didn't think that you had something special to offer. Hell, you got Crimson over as a good guy and a bad guy."_ Anthony, who sometimes goes by Crimson, replied.

"I guess you're right. I mean I use to dream about this moment for years. Who would have thought I would be a few hours away from having it possibly come true." BB says.

"What do mean possibly? It's going to! Now I have to go. Gotta get ready for tapings." Anthony replies.

"Wait? They're bringing you back? Why didn't you tell me? You could have got me my job back, asshole!" BB yells into the phone.

" _Thought about it, but I decided no. Go for the WWE. Me and Gail are wishing you luck from Orlando. Maybe you should stop buy afterwards and see us." Crimson replies_

"Alright, I might just do that. Thanks for the pep talk, coach." BB replies laughing which gets a scoff from Anthony.

"No problem, spitfire. Bye." Crimson says hanging up. BB smirks and puts his phone back in his pocket. A few seconds later, somebody is banging on the window of BB's car. BB turns to see who it is and gets and ear to ear grin when he sees the culprit—his sister Kaitlyn.

"KAITLYN!" BB screams getting out of the car and shutting the door.

"BLAINE!" Kaitlyn screams back as she gives her brother a hug which BB easily returns.

"I'm so happy to see you. We really haven't seen much of each other for what two years?" BB asks letting Kaitlyn go.

"Something like that since I'm on the road all year round and when I'm off, you're working." Kaitlyn replies with a mock frown getting BB to laugh.

"So what are you doing in Florida on your day off? Wouldn't you rather be relaxing or shopping or doing something in Houston?" BB asks.

"We can talk about that later. Come on, Blaine, let's catch up the last two years over some Pepsi and Beef and Cheddars." Kaitlyn says grabbing BB's arm and pulling him with her to her car.

* * *

"So how has the WWE been? Travel to many fun places?" BB asks while he and Kaitlyn eat at an Arby's not too far from the Performance Center.

"Definitely. Gotta travel to most of Europe, see parts of Canada and many other places." Kaitlyn replies before stopping and eating some curly fries. "The beginning was tough. Like two days after you left, they asked me to step in on the WWE NXT project for another girl who quit. I thought it was awesome, but I was nervous as hell because I was only training for a month. I ended up winning the show and started working on TV. The rest you've probably seen on either Monday or Friday." Kaitlyn says laughing which gets BB laughing as well. "Now…enough about me. How is TNA?" Kaitlyn asks BB.

"You mean how WAS TNA? It was good while it lasted." BB replied. Kaitlyn gave BB a confused look; BB sighs before continuing. "They released me about…eight months ago in January." BB replied counting the months on his fingers. "Kind of a shocker, honestly." BB finishes. Kaitlyn gets a sad look on her face and hugs her brother.

"I'm sorry, Blaine. It's their loss." Kaitlyn says wrapping her arm around BB's shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was still coming to grips with it. It's a stupid reason, but it really REALLY sucked."

"I can understand that, but anyways, tell me how it was."

"You know for someone who really only took part in one wrestling match there, it could have been a lot worse." BB replies shrugging.

"What do you mean one match? What the hell did you do for three years there? Start from the beginning. "Kaitlyn demands. BB smirks at sister before taking a drink and starting his story.

"The only reason I got the job in TNA was because of Gail Kim. After our little segment together, she saw how much I really wanted to be in wrestling. She had a few connections in the TNA offices and she got me a job in one of the segments on the Impact TV show about three months later." BB started to explain before being cut off by Kaitlyn.

"What exactly did you do?" Kaitlyn asks. BB rolls his eyes.

"It was a segment with Brooke Tessmacher, nothing huge. The good thing about that is Brooke remembered me when they were looking for someone for a part in October." BB replies.

"Don't keep in suspense. Tell me." Kaitlyn says getting anxious. BB starts laughing.

"You don't watch much television do you?" BB asks which gets him a slap on the shoulder. "I was kidding! OK. It was after their Bound for Glory show. Remember I still wasn't cleared from my injury so my part wasn't very much because it was just me being a manager and interfering here and there. Victoria Varon—who went by Tara in TNA—won the title at the pay per view. She laid down and gave the title to Madison Rayne, the woman who got Tara her job back. So…as an appreciation gift…Madison got Tara an assistant so to speak. That was me and I became known as Leandro Blaze. It turned out 'assistant' meant 'Tara's Boy Toy'" BB says which Kaitlyn starts laughing hysterically as BB glares at his sister.

"Is that why you had to buy a leather vest?" Kaitlyn asks and BB nods the affirmative. "I'm sorry, but I don't picture you being the boy toy type." Kaitlyn says trying to regain her composure and her breath.

"I didn't either. I mean the repeated chants of "Jailbait" towards me did get a little annoying, and I helped Madison get booed out of the building some nights. But working with Victoria and Madison was fun until they broke me away from the group at the beginning of 2011." BB says.

"Sounds about the same time I started wrestling on SmackDown." Kaitlyn replied.

"I think so. Mom said she hated seeing you lose over and over. To get on with the story, after working with Madison and Tara, I got the chance to work with the Amazing Red and Anthony." BB says.

"Anthony…isn't he that Crimson guy you kept talking about?" Kaitlyn asks. BB smiles and nods.

"The very same one. It was the time working with him and Red that I learned the most. First off, Red brought me in to help him and his little brother Crimson win the TNA Tag Titles. Crimson didn't like me or the idea of me helping them—which wasn't much of a stretch because Crimson hated me at first." BB admitted.

"How did Crimson hate you? You always had good things to say about him and that he really likes you." Kaitlyn asks confused.

"Now he does. Before, he thought I was just a lucky brat because I had no experience or training and I was thrown into a decent level storyline and getting part of the spotlight. It hurt my feelings, but I couldn't get sad and pout. I was determined to win his and everybody else's respect." BB answered clearing up Kaitlyn's confusion.

"How exactly did you do that?" Kaitlyn asks.

"It wasn't easy. After my final match managing Madison, I was cleared to physical activity. It came not a moment too soon because one of the agents or head guys told me that I had only a few months to learn the how to take bumps. Who knew my first…and only…match would take place four months after being cleared." BB says.

"FOUR MONTHS! How in the hell could you learn most of wrestling in four months?" Kaitlyn yells accidently scaring the people across from them.

"I really couldn't, but I sure as hell was going to try. As soon as I was cleared, I worked with Red as much as I could to learn as much as possible in a short length of time. That's what started to get Crimson to like me because he saw my determination. Sadly, the moment where I earned Crimson's respect also cut my training down." BB explains holding up his elbow, which has a faint scar.

"Was this from when you got that concussion?" Kaitlyn asks.

"How did you know about that?" BB asks now being the one confused.

"Because mom was crying for two days after that happened. One because you got hurt and the other day because she didn't find out until AFTER everything went down. How exactly did you mess up your elbow and get a concussion?" Kaitlyn replies.

"After two months of training and they ask you to take your first major hits, there is bound to be something going wrong. What happened was I was managing Crimson and Red for a match against the team of Mexican America for the Tag Titles. My team won after Mexican America got disqualified. A brawl broke out between the teams and I was checking on Red after it all went down. They caught me and brought a table into the ring. The bigger guy, Hernandez, powerbombed me through the table. I go through my first table and I slice my elbow, fracture it, and get a concussion. The cut came on a piece of broken table and the concussion and fracture came when I landed awkwardly on the canvas and that knocked me out for a few minutes." BB said rubbing the back of his head.

"What I thought was cool was that Crimson carried me to the back after that happened. One, it was not Crimson's character to do something like that. Two, I didn't know it happened until I watched the match again. He told me later that I was stupid for agreeing to do something so dangerous; he said that I earned his respect that night and afterwards he kind of protected me for the rest of time I was with TNA." BB said.

"Damn. How long were you out?" Kaitlyn asked. BB started counting on his fingers trying to remember how long he was out of commission.

"Not very long. About six weeks. So when I was cleared again, I had about two weeks to refresh myself. Believe me…it wasn't easy. Since I didn't mess with any wrestling training for almost two months, I regressed a lot—Crimson let me know every chance he got." BB said as he and Kaitlyn got up from the table and dumped their trays.

"So why were you training to wrestle in the first place?" Kaitlyn asked as they walked back to BB's car.

"I thought that if I didn't learn to their satisfaction, they would fire me. That wasn't the case. They wanted me to actually take part in a match!" BB said excited.

"That's amazing! What kind of match was it?" Kaitlyn asked.

"It was a six person tag match. It was myself, Red, and Crimson to fight against Hernandez, Anarquia, and Sarita. I was nervous wreck the days before the match. One, it was the first match I actually had to somewhat wrestle and not just be a distraction. Two, it was live and on a pay-per-view. Three, it was for the Tag Titles. The last thing I wanted to do was look like an idiot and screw everything up." BB said rolling his eyes.

"Did you tell Red or Crimson about your anxiety towards the match?" Kaitlyn asked. BB nodded his head.

"Yeah. Crimson told that I would be fine even if the team win or lost. Red told me that I was decent enough in the ring to hold a match and he also said to just tell myself that I can do it and you'll make it through the match." BB replied sighing as he relives the moments before his first major match.

"So how did the match turn out? It was probably much better than my first major TV match." Kaitlyn said as brother and sister laughed.

"I was still a nervous wreck the day of the show. When the music came on to make my entrance, I told myself it was now or never to live part of your dream; I walked into the arena. The match itself wasn't bad. I mean when I got into the match…by force…I got the shit knocked out of me. When I got my chance to show what I learned, and I even amazed myself. I mean I wasn't in the match very long; I did moves like a headscissors and I even did a DDT at one point. The crowd must have liked what they saw because the crowd chanted for Blaze at one point. I can't describe the feeling." BB excitedly said. "I tagged out as fast as possible when I got the chance and eventually Crimson got the pinfall and I was managing a set of Tag Team Champions." BB said.

"What happened afterwards? Did you get a chance to wrestle again?" Kaitlyn asked and BB shook his head no.

"Nope, that match was my only taste of in-ring action I got in TNA."

"What did you do afterwards?"

"Well…Crimson and Red held the titles a little over a year. I think we lost the titles in June of 2012. Red was released a month later after the rematch. After that, Crimson started to turn heel and started to blame all his shortcomings on me. It all came to a boiling point at Slammiversary in 2013 when Crimson issued out an open challenge. Of all people…JAMES STORM came down and beat him in about three minutes. Then Crimson blew a gasket and told me to get out of his face. That was last appearance in TNA." BB answered.

"Wait? Your last appearance in TNA was in June? But you were released in January!"

"They told me that they had plans for me, but obviously that didn't happen."

"How did they explain your absence and what did you do…besides not talking to me?" Kaitlyn asked with fake anger in her voice. BB kisses his sister on the cheek.

"Crimson said he fired me and that I would never work in this town again blah blah blah!" BB said laughing. "Funny thing is that Dixie Carter told me they were going to release me and that was AFTER she said that in 2014 I was going to be featured more prominently. After she told me I was gone, I really didn't say anything to anybody. I was hurt and kind of embarrassed that she didn't tell me before the tapings. Crimson called me a few days later to chew me out for not telling anybody, but he did say it sucked. He ended up getting released before I did…weirdly, but they just brought him back."

"What did you do during your down time in TNA?"

About two months after my last TNA show, I did some appearances here and there on the independent circuit—whether it be ring announcing or managing somebody. I did get to manage on a Ring of Honor pay per view. I got to manage Charlie Haas…you know World's Greatest Tag Team…against Michael Elgin and his weird manager Truth Martini. Haas won the match and I got to fight with Martini for a bit; that was pretty fun." BB said. "As for wrestling, I haven't done much since January; I did start going to college.

"That's great! I see you've managed to keep yourself pretty busy, Blaine. So what are you doing in Florida?" Kaitlyn asked, wondering what in the world her brother was doing in Florida when he lives in Texas. "Were you coming to visit me?"

"I'm surprised you haven't already found out. I guess some secrets are kept really well…or they weren't that important enough to keep." BB replies laughing. Kaitlyn slaps BB on the shoulder.

"Asshole! What secret?" Kaitlyn asks getting annoyed. BB puts his hands up in surrender.

"Alright! I'll tell you just calm down. After I got released, Crimson suggested that I make a video and send it to WWE." BB explains before being cut off by Kaitlyn.

"Wait! Does that mean….?" Kaitlyn tries to ask before being cut off by BB.

"Yes! But let me finish! I figured my video didn't impress anybody since it's been almost a year, but I got the call last week and they want to meet me today for a face-to-face tryout." BB finishes as Kaitlyn hugs her brother.

"That's awesome! Wouldn't it be cool if brother and sister were working for the same company? I mean you could be my manager and help me get the Diva's Championship back." Kaitlyn says excitedly as BB laughs.

"Yeah it would be cool, but it's kind of a longshot. I mean I don't have much wrestling experience; probably the best I would be is something like a commentator or backstage interviewer. But who knows what they will say." BB replies.

"Just so you know, I knew about your meeting for about two weeks! I had to find out from GAIL and not my own brother! Little shithead!"

"I'm sorry, Katie! I just didn't want to get anybody's hopes up. What if everyone got so excited and nothing came out of this meeting?" BB asked as Kaitlyn nods her head and hugs her brother.

"So when do you have to be at the Performance Center to talk with WWE?" Kaitlyn asks. BB looks at his watch to see that he didn't have much time to get ready

"Shit! I have about fifteen minutes to get there." BB says as Kaitlyn points to his seat.

"Look. I'll drive to the PC and you can get ready in the car. With the way I drive, you will have plenty of time to spare." Kaitlyn says as she starts the car

"Are you ready?" Kaitlyn asks fastening her seatbelt. BB grabs a bag from the backseat before fastening his seatbelt and nodding. "Alright. To the Performance Center!" Kaitlyn yells pulling out of the parking lot. As BB was changing, he had so many questions going through his mind.

 _Do I even have a chance at a job in WWE?_

 _Do they even have a place for someone like me?_

 _Do I deserve a shot at this when so many veterans have been shot down?_

BB knew that this might be his one chance to get into the one business he had dreamed about for years; he didn't want to waste it. He had to be confident. Crimson told him that nerves and fear can destroy a person. _"Crimson's right! I can't be nervous. What do I have to lose?"_ BB thought kicking off his shoes.

* * *

Minutes later, BB calmed down and finished getting dressed. When he fastened the belt on his pants, he looked out the window and saw the Performance Center. BB smiled as Kaitlyn pulled into the parking lot. The car screeched as Kaitlyn parks the car and the two siblings walk towards the building

"Are you ready for this?" Kaitlyn asks rubbing BB's shoulder in support. BB takes a deep breath before looking at his sister and smiling.

"Completely!" BB replies as the two Bonin siblings enter the WWE Performance Center.

* * *

 **Alright, it looks like BB is ready to go! This chapter was more of a summary chapter to show everybody what BB did since appearing on Raw with Gail Kim...so there wasn't a lot of action, but it will pick up in the coming chapters. BB was pretty much a manager for his TNA career, but he got to wrestle in one match and he got to manage some well-known people in Victoria (or Tara), Madison Rayne, Amazing Red, and Crimson. BB also got his first taste in working in the independent circuit (somewhat). Hopefully this is just the beginning for BB.**

 **Next chapter, BB has his meeting for a chance at living his dream. Will it go well or will it be a total disaster? Stay tuned for the next chapter.**

 **P.S. Sorry if there were any awkward parts of the story. I tried to edit this as best as I could!**


	3. The Tryout

**It has been a while, but I have NOT forgot about the story. Life tends to get in the way and you become busier than you intend. I am VERY sorry about the long wait, though. Here is the next chapter and it's extra long as my thanks for being patient with me! Enjoy!**

* * *

BB walks into the Performance Center with Kaitlyn following close behind. At that moment, BB is stopped by the receptionist at the front desk.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asks.

"Umm…yes I have a meeting with Mr. Levesque at 1." BB says a little shy.

"Are you here for the tryout?"

"Yes I am."

"Name?"

"Blaine Bonin."

"Bonin? Why does that name sound so familiar?" The receptionist asks. At that moment, Kaitlyn pops up and startles both of them.

"Because there already is a WWE Superstar last named Bonin." Kaitlyn says smiling which gets BB to smirk. The receptionist nods her head.

"That's it! Sorry about that, Kaitlyn! What are you doing in the PC?"

"Well…even though it's my days off, I thought about getting some practice in as well as give my timid little brother some moral support." Kaitlyn replies wrapping her arm around BB.

"How sweet. Good luck today, Mr. Bonin. Mr. Levesque has asked for all the tryout attendees to change into their workout gear for the tryout. The men's locker room will be the down the first hallway you see and the second door on the left." The secretary says as BB and Kaitlyn walk into the gym. Kaitlyn pats BB on the shoulder and giving him a quick hug of support before the two go their separate ways. BB finds the locker room and changes into his workout gear before walking back out to the main part of the PC.

" _Holy crap this place is HUGE! There HAS to be like what…five or six rings."_ BB thought as he was amazed at the sight and size of the Performance Center. BB was too into his surroundings that he crashed into somebody.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" BB asked. The woman laughed after rubbing her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. It'll take more than that to hurt me. I'm Becky. Becky Lynch. I don't think I've ever seen you." Becky replied extending her hand which BB shook in return.

"I'm Blaine. Blaine Bonin, but a lot of people call me BB. It is very nice to meet you. This is my first time here at the Performance Center. I'm participating in the tryout that starts in a few minutes. I just got really amazed at how BIG this place really is. My sister told me about this place, but actually SEEING it is a completely different story." BB replies as Becky wraps her arm around BB's shoulder.

"I know, right?! It's like the freakin' Taj Majal in here! You know what 3B?" Becky asks as BB shoots her a look after he heard her new nickname for him. "I think this is the beginning of a BEAUTIFUL friendship. Don't you?"

"Umm…yeah. It's really cool to make a friend here." BB quickly says as the coach yells for all tryout participants to meet him around the center ring. "I better get going. Tryout is about to start. It was nice meeting you."

"Same here 3B. See you around and good luck." Becky replies slapping BB on the back. BB makes a small grunt as he walks to the center ring. When he catches up with the other tryout participants, he gets his first look at the head trainers of developmental. He first looks at the guy who has piercings all on his face and is immediately intimidated.

" _Damn, if THAT is the head trainer here…remind me that if I make it to WWE to NOT get on his bad side. He looks like he eats cruiserweights for breakfast."_ BB thought before looking at the woman standing in the ring. _"She doesn't LOOK as intimidating as the man, but the look on her face says that she is strictly business. I guess you would have to be if you were training future WWE Superstars."_

"Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Matt Bloom and the woman next to me is Sara Amato. We are the head trainers for the Developmental program for the WWE. Today each one of you around the ring can get a chance at becoming a WWE Superstar. Today is Day One of a two-day tryout. Today is all about seeing if your body can handle the workouts and the stress that each developmental talent before you have had to endure. If you do not make it to the second day, you will find out at the end of today's tryout. Now here are a few things to remember: work your hardest, be respectful, and most of all be yourself. Good luck to everybody today. Now get stretching and be ready for your first workout." Coach Bloom said as everyone started limbering up for the beginning of the tryout. BB took a deep breath and took the elastic band out of his hair and retied his ponytail. From a distance, BB caught Kaitlyn talking to somebody. He reminded himself to ask her about it later. After a few minutes of stretching and thinking, he heard Coach Bloom blow the whistle, which snapped BB out of his thoughts.

"Alright, everybody. Find a spot on the mat around the ring and get ready to go." Coach Bloom said as all the participants started surrounding the ring. "OK. We are going to start off simple with some push-ups before we get into the main part of the day. Everybody get into position…ready…go!"

* * *

Hours later, BB trying is hardest not to cough up his lung as he wipes the sweat off his face with his tank top since he long discarded the shirt he was wearing (and threw it at Kaitlyn…much to her disgust and his amusement) since he started sweating profusely halfway through the workout. He has NOT had this intense of a workout in a very long time, and today was proving that he wanted to be in WWE, BB needed to hit the gym and the cardio a little harder. As he finished the workout set he was on, BB heard Coach Bloom blow the whistle one more time.

"Alright, everybody, listen up! You men and women survived the first day of the tryouts. I'm going to go ahead and tell you that we started this tryout with thirty-seven people and we end Day One with thirty-three. Everybody get showered up and relax for a moment. Me and the other coaches are going to deliberate, compare notes, and try to cut the thirty-three survivors down to twenty-one." Coach Bloom says as everybody starts heading back to the locker room. As BB starts walking back, he is pulled back by Kaitlyn.

"How are you feeling?" Kaitlyn asks as BB winces a little bit.

"Not gonna lie. I'm sore, but that'll pass. Been a while since I've done bump training like…I've NEVER done bump training like that. Other than that, and my lungs feeling like they're going to collapse, I had a blast." BB replied with a huge smile on his face to which his sister laughs.

"Even on the verge of death, you always manage to have a smile on your face. Don't ever change that, Blaine. That's one of the things I love so much about you." Kaitlyn says giving her little brother a hug and quick kiss on the cheek before cringing and stepping back. "I don't love the fact that you smell like my gym bag. Go take a shower, Stinky, and I'll wait out here for you."

BB rolls his eyes and walks the rest of the way back to the locker room by himself. When BB sat down on a bench to untie his shoes, he had a weird feeling that somebody was staring at him. He looked up and sees a blond-haired man glaring daggers into him.

"Umm…can I help you with something?" BB asked as politely as possible knowing that something was going to hit the fan in about three seconds.

"Yeah. You can get out of my way. Didn't you see my bag in the locker behind you" The blonde guy pointed to the locker behind BB that was open a crack. BB turned around and saw his stuff behind him in the locker. BB felt bad and immediately got up.

"Hey. I'm very sorry. I didn't realize that this was your spot. I just got back in the locker room a few seconds ago. I'll grab my bag and just find another sp…." BB tried to say before being grabbed by the shirt collar.

"Look here, don't get on my bad side. Plain and simple. Are we clear?" The blonde said getting in BB's face. BB knew he probably hurt his chances with his attitude, but this guy was starting to piss him off.

"Crystal. Who exactly are you anyway?" BB asked trying to shove this guy off him, but his grip on BB's shirt got tighter.

"It's none of your concern. Just hope you never should step in the ring with me. It won't end well for you." The guy says shoving BB and sending him falling backwards over the bench and almost cracking his head on the locker. A couple of guys come over to check on BB as the guy walks away with his bag and a pleased smirk on his face.

"Are you alright, kid?" A guy asks helping BB up and sitting him back on the bench.

"Yeah. I'm good. Got lucky that I didn't crack my skull on the lockers. Thanks for helping me. I'm BB, by the way." BB answers extending his hand. The man shakes his hand in return.

"Chad Gable. Are you one of the people here for the tryout?"

"Yep. Is it that obvious?"

Chad starts laughing after that question. "Only because I've never seen you before. As for that guy, don't worry too much about him." BB nods in response.

"Very true. Do you have any idea who that guy is?" BB asks Chad, who shakes his head no.

"All too well. That's Tyler Breeze. Resident wrestling model and self-obsessed pretty boy."

"I'm not gonna lie. Is he one of the Superstars here? I haven't kept up with much of WWE except for my sister's matches, so I'm a little rusty on who does what."

"Oh yeah. Tyler is one of those people who think everybody 'below' him are just an 'uggo' and just need to stay clear of him. That and he is probably the guy who has been in NXT the longest." Chad answers as BB groans.

"Really? I can certainly know how to pick the people to piss off. I start with the longest tenured guy here. Go figure." BB said with annoyance in his voice. Chad smirks and slaps BB on the back.

"Like I said before, don't think too much about Breeze. Think about you and getting your ass signed. He probably thinks that you probably won't be anyway…so prove him wrong." Chad says as he walks away. BB gives him a quick wave before getting a quick shower.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, BB is quickly pulling his hair into a ponytail as he jogs over to where the other tryout attendees are standing.

"Alright, everybody. Day one of this tryout is officially done. I have to say that I'm greatly impressed with the talent and the potential with this group. There are a few of you that shining above the rest. A lot of you are showing major potential. We decided ultimately not to cut anybody today because we want to see what all of you guys can bring to the table. Everybody get a good night's sleep and be back and ready to go at 8 tomorrow morning. Good night everybody!" Coach Bloom said blowing his whistle and dismissing everybody. BB looks around the PC trying to find his sister, but finds her moments later talking to the same guy from before. Kaitlyn catches BB walking over and motions for the guy to come with her.

"Hey! What did Coach Bloom say?" Kaitlyn asked when three met up.

"Not much. He said no cuts today and everybody be ready for tomorrow. So, I'm happy to still be around for tomorrow. Not sure what it will bring, though." BB replied as the guy next to Kaitlyn extended his hand.

"From what I've seen, you should have no problem making it through the second day. You probably haven't had much time to watch the product, so let me introduce myself. I'm Seth Rollins. It's nice to finally meet you, Blaine." Seth said as BB awkwardly shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too. I know almost nothing about you, so how do you know so much about me?"

"There were rumors about who was going to be trying out this time around. One of the names that came up was Leandro Blaze—a young and upstart manager who is close with one of the WWE Divas. Through connections, I found out that you were the younger brother of Kaitlyn." Seth answered nudging Kaitlyn which got her smiling. "Then through the magic of YouTube, I found some of your work in TNA and was really impressed with I saw."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it. I was hoping I would have had more in-ring experience before my WWE tryout, but I'm happy to be here. Can I ask you a question real quick, Katie?" BB asks as Kaitlyn nods. "How long were you going to date Seth before you were going to tell me?" Kaitlyn starts blushing and looking at Seth.

"You didn't tell him?" Seth asks as Kaitlyn blushes even more. "I thought you were going to tell him before the tryout?"

"I was, but I didn't get a chance to see Blaine until not long before the tryout and we just started talking. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Blaine." Kaitlyn says to BB before he hugs his sister.

"Don't worry about it, Katie. I'm happy for you. I could tell the first time I saw you guys talking during the tryout that there was something going on. From what I can see, Seth looks like a good guy. Next time, just don't keep me out of the loop next time, you snot-rocket." BB replies. "I don't know about you guys, but I am STARVING."

"Alright alright. Grab your bag and hurry up or we are gonna leave your ass here!" Kaitlyn says as BB rolls his eyes and walks back to the locker room to grab his bags. As he was walking to the car after he left the Performance Center, he locks eyes with Tyler Breeze. Both men glare at each other for a moment before BB hears Kaitlyn honking the car horn to get her brother to get a move on. BB shakes his head as he put his gym bag in the trunk and gets in the backseat.

"What was that about between you and Breeze? That was some pretty extreme glares going on?" Kaitlyn asks driving down the street. BB does his best to try to shrug it off.

"It's nothing. He probably mistook me for somebody else." BB replies. The last thing he wants to do is to have his sister confront Tyler. It would easily ruin whatever chance he had at gaining a WWE contract.

"Maybe. I mean Breezy sometimes doesn't have the best attitude in the locker room. Probably just frustration that some guys have been in NXT half as long as he has, but he is still there." Kaitlyn answers still looking at the road.

"I understand that everybody wants to be on Raw or SmackDown, but who could be frustrated with being a part of the phenomenon NXT is becoming?" BB asks.

"Some people always dream of being on Raw. Don't you remember sitting on the couch watching Raw or SmackDown and saying that you were going to be a WWE Superstar when you grew up?" Kaitlyn asks which gets BB remembering about the times when he was eleven years old doing his homework right after he got home from school just so he could watch all of Raw without getting in trouble.

"You're right. Sometimes frustration can happen whenever things don't go your way in life. I was probably the innocent victim of his frustration. Who knows?" BB says sitting back and staring into the sky as Kaitlyn drives to a restaurant.

* * *

Hours after saying goodbye to Kaitlyn and Seth, BB decides to take the extra few minutes away from sleep and go visit a few friends down in Orlando. TNA just finished up tapings for the night and BB knew where a few people went afterward…either eat, party, or go back to the hotel. BB texted one of his friends and got the confirmation that they were already at the hotel, so BB quickly changed direction and went to the hotel he used to stay at whenever he was in TNA.

Ten minutes later, BB texted his friend that he was at the hotel and his friend gave him the room number. Not ten seconds after stepping off the elevator, he was startled by a deep voice behind him.

"You couldn't stay away. Could you, Blaze?" The voice said. BB turned around and saw Crimson with a big smirk on his face.

"You're such an asshole sometimes." BB said as he gives Crimson a hug. BB was very happy to see Crimson face to face for the first time in about ten months.

"I'm not denying it. How was the tryout?" Crimson asks.

"So far, so good. I'm as sore as hell thanks to the drills, but it'll be worth it in the end. I go back tomorrow morning for the second half of it. How were tapings tonight?"

"Good. Usual doses of chaos, but nothing new there. Glad to get some wrestling in. Been hell sitting around waiting to be cleared after my injury. Anyways, I had a feeling you were going to make the drive to Orlando, so somebody else wanted to see you really quick." Crimson said as Gail Kim started walking towards them holding her TNA Knockouts Championship.

"GAIL!" BB screams as he runs over and hugs Gail. "I missed you! How's it going, Champ?"

"I missed you, too. Things are going good. Same old, same old as defending the belt." Gail says holding up her title and laughing. "I heard good things about the tryout…don't ask! I know a few people. I must say I'm very proud of you. Who knew that the little teenager who was a nervous wreck being my photographer turned into Leandro Blaze the manager. Now he's turning into a WWE Superstar."

"I'm not a Superstar, yet. I still have another day of tryouts and anything can happen tomorrow."

"You're thinking too much about this. If you want my opinion, you just need to turn on that Leandro Blaze charm and show them why you became a success. You've got this."

"That's what I told him BEFORE the tryout today and he about had a damn heart attack." Crimson replies.

"I wasn't going to have a heart attack…anxiety attack maybe, but no heart attack." BB replies laughing. Gail shakes her head and gives BB a pat on the back.

"You've got this. Just knock tomorrow out of the park. I've gotta go, but let me know how everything goes. Bye Blaine. Bye Tony." Gail says as she gets on the elevator and leaves the hotel.

"What are your plans for tonight? Where are you staying?" Crimson asks BB, who simply shrugs.

"Honestly…I don't know. I know that Kaitlyn is staying with her boyfriend, so…." BB tries to answer before Crimson cuts him off.

"Say no more, little spitfire, you will stay in my room tonight. Just remember me when you become a big superstar." Crimson remarks as BB starts laughing. "I did one of these tryouts years ago and they usually want you deliver a promo. Do you have any idea what you are going to cut a promo on?"

"Not yet. I'm still trying to get my legs back from the today's tryout. I haven't even thought about a promo."

"You need to. You don't want to walk in there and be completely clueless. I'll help you think of something to say tomorrow just in case you have to deliver a promo."

"Thanks, Tony. I really appreciate it. But you know that I always struggled with promos and I haven't cut any promo for almost eight months. I'm just nervous that I'll go out there and look like an idiot."

"Not another word like that, you understand me?" Crimson says with anger arising in his voice. "I'll admit that your promos weren't exactly best early on, but you got much better towards the end of your TNA run. It's like riding a bike, you'll remember everything as soon you start up again. Come on, Blaine. Grab your bags and let's get started." BB nods as he gets back on the elevator to grab his bags from his car.

* * *

The next morning, BB is pulling into the parking lot next to the Performance Center when he feels his phone vibrate that he received a text message. He looks at his phone and notices that his mother sent him a text message.

" _I know you are getting ready to go into your tryout, so don't bother calling until after it's done. I just want to let you know that no matter what the result, we are all very proud of you! Love you and dominate."_

BB closed his phone and couldn't keep the smile off of his face. He's happy that everyone is behind him, but now he's extra nervous because he doesn't want to come out and say that he failed. Trying to get the thoughts of doubt out of his head, BB shook his head and started walking to the PC because it is now or never.

BB got into the locker room and tried to change as quickly as possible because he wanted to avoid Tyler at all costs. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a fight before tryouts. After changing—and successfully avoiding Tyler—he jogged out to the main ring where Coach Bloom was standing waiting for everybody to arrive. Minutes later, Coach Bloom blew on his whistle to get everybody's attention.

"Alright. It's time to get started. Yesterday we were checking what shape you all are in. Today is going to see if you guys have the superstar mentality. After a quick warmup, the first half of the day will be spent getting to know each one of you through interviews. After lunch, each and every one of you will get in the ring and will cut a promo. At the end of the day, we will have general overall idea of how many of you stand a chance at becoming a WWE Superstar. Get stretching because we will start the warmup in five minutes." Coach Bloom said blowing his whistle again while all everyone began stretching.

About an hour after the warm up, BB was standing in line waiting for his turn to be interviewed. He was hoping to draw either one of the first or one of the last numbers so he would stand the best chance of making an impression on the trainers, but he ended up right in the middle—number seventeen. At the moment, he was watching a few wrestlers train in one of the rings as a familiar Irish voice startled him out of his thoughts.

"Watching in admiration, 3B? I didn't mean to scare ya!" Becky said as she threw her arm around BB.

"It's alright. It's just awesome watching them do all that stuff. I can just watch everyone train all day." BB replied as Becky pointed to one of the guys in the ring.

"Do you recognize the guy who just did the clothesline?" Becky asked as BB shook his head no. "Just between you and me, this is one of the best signings WWE has ever made and I'm not saying it because he's Irish. Does the name Prince Devitt ring a bell?"

BB takes a moment to try to remember the name, but then it hits him. "That Prince Devitt?" BB asks as Becky nods her head. "Holy wow. That is a good sign by WWE. I mean New Japan's Prince Devitt. He's an international sensation."

"Number Seventeen. We're ready for you. Number Seventeen!" A voice calls as BB looks around.

"I'm guessing that's you?" Becky asks as BB nods. "Good luck."

BB rushes to the guy who has been yelling the numbers. Then they guy takes him into an office where 3 of the trainers—including Coach Bloom—are sitting on one side of a long conference table. BB takes a seat on the opposite side of the table and takes a deep breath. If BB said he wasn't nervous right now, he would be lying.

"Number Seventeen. It's nice to see you. Allow me to introduce the three of us before we get underway. To my left is the Assistant Head Coach of the WWE Performance Center, Miss Sara Amato. To my right, is longtime WWE Superstar and great eye for talent, Mr. William Regal. Let's start off this interview by asking you to introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself." Coach Bloom says to BB.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you face-to-face. My name is Blaine Bonin, but a lot of people call me BB. I am 22 years old. I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but I grew up in Houston, Texas. In high school, I was mainly active in track and a little bit of gymnastics. My older brother was a football standout and my older sister currently works for the WWE now." BB starts off. Quickly after mentioning Kaitlyn, William starts the questioning.

"May we ask who your sister is?" William asks.

"Kaitlyn Bonin." BB answers even though he feels William already knew the answer.

"Do you think that having a sibling already in WWE will get you a little bias in your favor?" Sara asks.

"I hope not. I want to get into WWE on my own merit. Not by my name or by my family, but what I can bring to the table." BB replies as Sara jots notes down, but looks impressed by his response.

"Are you a fan of the WWE product?" Coach Bloom asks.

"I watched it religiously when I was little."

"Do you know much about the current WWE product?"

"Outside of Kaitlyn's matches, not very much, I hate to say."

"Do you have any experience in sports entertainment?" William asks now.

"Yes, I do, sir. I have been in the business for four years this October."

"What has been your primary role in wrestling?" Sara asks.

"Manager."

"Have you had formal wrestling training?" Coach Bloom asks.

"Unfortunately, not extensive training. I was mainly trained to take the bumps that the manager needed to take; for actual wrestling, it has only been in small spurts."

"If you don't mind my asking, how many matches have you been in?" Sara asks.

BB looks at the table and starts to turn red before he answers, "…one." Coach Bloom nods and writes something down.

"Probably one of the most important aspects a WWE Superstar needs to have is passion for the business. So, Blaine, how much passion do you have to be in the business?" William asks.

"Complete passion. There has been NOTHING else I wanted to be in my life than a professional wrestler. NOTHING other than a WWE Superstar. It has been my dream ever since I was 12 years old. I'm extremely excited for the opportunity to make my dream a reality." BB answered trying to convey as much passion in his voice as he could.

"Would you have any problem moving to Florida if you are one of the lucky ones who get signed to a contract?" Coach Bloom asked.

"Absolutely not. If it happens, tell me when and I will be down here ASAP." BB replied.

"Thank you very much, Blaine. We will see you a little later with your promo." Coach Bloom said with a smile after he finished his notes. BB said his thanks and exited the office quietly. Number eighteen was already being called whenever he reached the main part of the Performance Center. Just as quickly as he returned, BB is grabbed around the waist from behind. He maneuvers himself in the hug to see that Kaitlyn made it to the PC.

"So, you made it through your interview. How did it go?" Kaitlyn asks as BB shrugs.

"I don't know. I think it went decent. Hopefully they felt the same way. Now it's the waiting game until I must deliver my promo. I'm not looking forward to it."

"Why are you so nervous about giving a promo? You've done it before. Why is it any different today?"

"I've always been nervous when I have to talk in front of a crowd. I just better at masking it. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of everybody."

"Blaine, you are so fatalistic. Just go out there and go for it. If you mess up, you mess up. It happens to everybody! Now let's grab an early lunch before you should be back here for your promo. What time do you have to be back?"

"The first promo starts at 1, but Coach Bloom wants us here ready to go at 12:30."

"Perfect! Come on, Blaine!" Kaitlyn says dragging BB behind her.

* * *

Two hours later, BB is standing around the ring listening to the promos being cut. Some he thought were pretty good and really got his attention. He could also see that a few were nervous like him and stammered a little bit. A few people snickered during those promos and BB shot them glares. Kaitlyn spent most of their lunch together telling BB to stop being a scaredy-cat and have fun.

Before Kaitlyn went to hang out with Seth before they had to get back on the road, she gave BB a note that read 'You've Got This'. BB had the note in his pocket whenever William called his number. BB jumped at the voice—which got a couple people around him snickering—and started to get into the ring. As BB was stepping through the ropes, he heard one of the guys—some big guy with a football background—say 'this is gonna be good' as he rolled his eyes. BB ignored him and walked into the middle of the ring. BB picked up the microphone sitting in the middle of the ring as the coaches greeted him.

"Number seventeen…Blaine. It's good to see you again. Now it's time to hear your promo. It can be about anything within good taste and try to keep it less than four minutes." Coach Bloom instructed as BB nodded. "Alright. The floor is yours."

" _Alright…there's no going back now."_ BB though as he took a deep breath. As he was getting ready to speak, he accidently dropped the microphone. BB wiped his sweaty hands on his shorts as a few people started laughing—including the big mouthy guy. BB's face turned red in embarrassment as he bent down to pick up the microphone.

" _SHIT! Great way to start the promo!"_ BB thought.

"Good god. This kid is a loser. Might as well get him out of the ring right now. Little boy can't even hold a microphone." The big guy mouthed off which changed BB's mood completely. Even though he was still embarrassed, he was even more pissed off. BB picked up the microphone and walked to the side of the ring where the guy was standing.

"Perdant? PERDANT" BB yelled into the microphone. "Ce sont des gens comme lui qui m'ont fait devenir une WWE Superstar." BB said pointing directly to the guy, who looked a little shocked that he was being called out by a little kid.

"J'ai toujours ete choisi par les gens avec plus de muscles que de cerveaux. Ils m'ont fait sentir inutile. BB looked around the room to see if he had everybody's attention before continuing. "Depuis que j'ai commence dans ce métier, j'ai senti que j'avais envie de travailler deux fois plus dur pour gagner le respect parce que je n'ai pas 'payer me cotisations' et que je n'appartenais pas a 'LEUR' monde. Mais ces experiences m'ont rendu plus dur." At this point, BB didn't care what was going on around him. He was on fire.

"Je ne pourrais pas etre le plus grand, le plus fort, out le plus rapide, Mais je suis I'un des travailleurs les plus durs dans la sale et je suis impatient de montrer a chacun et chacun d'entre vous ce que vous etes exactment contre." BB took a deep breath before changing things up.

"You know…It's because of people like him that my dream was to become a WWE Superstar. I was always bullied and made to feel worthless by guys with more body power than brain power. Ever since I started in this business, I felt like I had to work twice as hard to gain half the respect because I didn't 'pay my dues' or that I didn't belong in 'THEIR' world. It was heart-wrenching at times, but those experiences made me tougher." BB smiled and took another deep breath before finishing.

"I might not be the biggest, strongest, or fastest. But I am one of the hardest workers in the room. I'm looking quite forward to showing each and every one of you what exactly you are up against." BB said putting the microphone back down. He looked around the ring and saw the stunned look on people's faces—even a couple of the trainers. As he exited the ring, he glared directly at the big guy he called out and smirked at him. As he was walking back to his spot, he got a few pats on the back and a few people told that he did a great job.

After a few moments of jotting down notes, Coach Bloom keeps thing going by calling the next number.

* * *

Hours later, the second day of tryouts were finished and Coach Bloom gathers everybody around the ring one more time.

"Congrats to everyone standing around this ring right now. You guys made it through a grueling two days. Some of you guys really showed that you have what it takes to be in the WWE. Some of you guys still have some work to do. Hopefully in the next few months some of you will be contacted and possibly offered a contract. If you don't get offered this time around, don't be discouraged. If you really wanna be in this business, just continue to improve and work on your craft. You might get another opportunity. Thank you guys very much. Have a great night, everybody." Coach Bloom says before he blows the whistle and everybody disperses. BB walks back to the locker room to grab his gym bag and head to the airport. As he leaves the locker room, BB is stopped by Seth.

"Hey Seth. Where's Kaitlyn?" BB asks.

"First off, I don't know how you did it, but people are talking about you." Seth said patting BB on the back. "Kaitlyn had to catch an earlier flight out of Florida. They needed her for a taping or something. She really wanted to see you."

"Damn, that sucks…wait! What are you talking about? What did I do?" BB asks in reply.

"What did you do? I'm talking about that promo you delivered during the tryout. Your promo ended up being you telling somebody off in French AND in English."

"So…what are they saying about it?"

"Some people thought it was pretty sweet. Others thought you were completely out of line and shouldn't have done your promo as that. Can't please everybody."

"What did you think about it?" BB asks really wanting Seth's opinion—considering he is Mr. Money in the Bank and eventual WWE Champion…and dating his sister.

"I wasn't there when it happened, but somebody got a video of it. I thought it was pretty awesome. For someone who really didn't like giving promos, you certainly got everybody's attention out there. Great job." Seth replies.

"Thank you. That really means a lot to me. Hopefully the coaches and higher ups thought the same way and didn't get pissed off with my promo." BB answers as they walk to the parking lot.

"So, what plans do you have now that tryouts are over?" Seth asks walking to his rental car which is ironically parked next to BB's.

"I've also been taking college courses online, so I better get some work done on those." BB replied putting his gym bag in the trunk of his car.

"Have you considered taking a few independent bookings? You know, to kill time waiting or just in case WWE falls through." Seth asks walking over to BB's car.

"I have thought about that. I'm not really sure what I'm gonna do right now. I probably should to get my name back out there since it has been a while and to show that I care about the business." BB replied before yawning. "I guess I better get going. Got an early morning flight back to Houston. Thank you for giving me your opinion on my work today. I really appreciate it."

"What are friends for? I believe it's a veteran's job to assist and critique rookies who really wanna be in wrestling. I better get going too. Have to be in Nevada for a live event tomorrow. Good to finally meet you, Blaine." Seth says as he gets in his car and leaves the parking lot. BB smiles as he gets into his car to drive to the airport.

* * *

After arriving at the airport, BB is sitting in the car staring at the sky after catching up on phone calls and text messages—especially the twelve texts and four voicemails from Kaitlyn. He spent almost an hour on the phone breaking down and describing everything in explicit detail to Crimson and Kaitlyn. He would still be talking to his sister right now if he didn't tell her that he had to check in for his flight. After a few more moments of daydreaming, BB gets out of the car and heads into the airport to check in for his flight.

After a few hours of waiting, BB was on the plane waiting to head home to Houston. He was sitting in his seat waiting for the plane to take off when he saw a little kid wearing a John Cena shirt acting excited and telling his mom he was going to be like John Cena when he grew up. BB smiled and leaned back in his seat to take a quick nap.

" _That's going to be me someday. Kids are going to want to be me. I can't wait."_ BB thought as he finally went to sleep.

* * *

 **Here you are with BB's tryout. I'm pretty sure this isn't exactly how WWE Tryouts go, but I don't think it will hurt for this story. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you thought and stay tuned for the next chapter.**


	4. Taste of a Dream

**Without further delay, here is the next chapter of Learning the Ropes, enjoy the chapter. As a special treat, it is a little bit longer as my thanks to everybody being so patient!**

* * *

About three months after the tryout, BB was still completely anxious about how his tryout went. He was checking his phone almost every minute he could to see if WWE called. One day, BB was coming home after the gym when his cell phone started to ring. He didn't recognize the number right away, but decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello?" BB answered, wondering who in the hell this person was.

"Hello, is this Blaine Bonin?" The voice asked.

"Yes it is. May I ask who is calling?"

"This is Paul Levesque. How are you doing this afternoon?" Paul said which caused BB to almost scream.

" _Oh my god. He's calling me directly! Does that mean I got the contract? SAY SOMETHING, STUPID! But don't talk too fast. You don't wanna seem too eager!"_ BB thought.

"I'm am doing alright. What can I help you with?" BB asks trying to keep his cool.

"My question for you is would you be able to make it to Florida by Saturday?" Paul asks which gets BB even more excited.

"By Saturday? Yeah I should have no problem getting to Florida. Any particular reason?" BB asks. Paul chuckles a little at his response.

"Actually yes. I remember from a few years back that your sister suggested you for a job since you were fluent in French. Would you be able to help us out again and make it to Daytona Beach for an NXT event?" Paul asks. BB's heart sunk a little after that.

" _Well…shit."_ BB thought. _"I shouldn't have got my hopes up that high. Either way, it can still happen. Hmm…NXT, huh? I've heard that those crowds are some of the most vocal and exciting crowds around. At least I'm getting an opportunity to prove myself in front of an audience."_

"Yeah. It will be no problem at all. Thank you for keeping me in mind and I will see you Saturday." BB said as they both hung up. BB tosses his phone on his bed as he pulls out his laptop.

" _I guess I need to start looking for tickets to Florida."_ BB thought as he starts his search. He didn't get very far before he hears a knock at the door.

"It's open!" BB screams as his sister comes through the door. "Why am I not surprised to see you here when there's a live event in Dallas?"

"How the hell did you know that I was gonna be in Dallas?" Kaitlyn asks hugging her brother.

"Katie, I know your schedule better than you do some days. Besides, mom told me you were gonna be in town." BB replies laughing as he gets smacked on the shoulder by Kaitlyn.

"Little shit." Kaitlyn remarks before looking over at BB's laptop to see what her brother was researching. "What exactly are you looking at Priceline for?"

"If you must know, I'm trying to find a cheap flight to Daytona Beach this weekend."

"Why are trying to fly do Daytona Beach? Why are you waiting until the last minute? You know that tickets aren't gonna be cheap." Kaitlyn replies as BB continues to look for tickets.

"Duh. I know that! But if Triple H calls you and wants you to appear at an NXT event, money is no worry." BB answered as he went back to looking for tickets—ignoring the fact that his sister is staring at him wide eyed.

"Did you say what I think you said?" Kaitlyn asked as her smile got bigger.

"If you thought I said 'Triple H called and asked me to appear for NXT on Saturday in Daytona Beach' then I said what you thought I said." BB replied matching Kaitlyn's smile with a smile of his own.

"I knew that WWE would come calling for you! Did he bring up anything about your tryout and a contract?" Kaitlyn asks. BB shakes his head no.

"Not yet. I wanted to ask him about it, but I didn't want to push my luck or seem too eager. Hopefully if I give a great job that it might push things in my favor." BB replies before groaning towards the laptop. "It's like these airlines think I'm made of money! Look at these prices!" Kaitlyn looks at the screen and reads the prices before she remembers something.

"Hey. I know a guy who works at Delta who can get you round trip tickets for a much cheaper price. What would you say about that, Blaine?" Kaitlyn suggests. BB thinks for a moment before hugging his sister.

"I would say that I love you more than I already do." BB says excitedly. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem. Just remember that I am the sweetest and most awesome sister you have ever had!" Kaitlyn replies as she pulls out her phone to call her friend.

* * *

Three days later, BB is pulling into the building where he was told to show up a few hours before the event began.

" _Here we go…I'm just a few hours away from making my NXT live event debut."_ BB thought as he grabbed his bag from the trunk of the rental car and walks into the building. As he was wandering around the building, he managed to find the main area where the event will take place and saw that a full house would probably be about 500 people.

"Reminds me of the first live events I did with TNA. Brings back old times. I can't wait!" BB thought as me managed to find the main office where he was able to recognize Coach Bloom talking to one of the female wrestlers. As soon as she turned around, she saw him and recognized BB right away.

"It's the little Oklahoma badlad! How's it going, Blaine?" Becky asked as he gave him a quick hug before he could protest.

"I'm doing alright. It has certainly been a while since we've seen each other. Are things going good for you in NXT?" BB replied trying to regain his breath. She was a small girl, but damn if that hug didn't knock the air outta him.

"Certainly. Becky Lynch is taking a new direction so things are getting good. What are you doing here in Daytona?" Becky asked in reply.

"I got a call from Triple H earlier this week to see if I can help out with the event. So here I am." BB answered with a smile, which got Coach Bloom's attention.

"You must be the one that Paul told us about. It's good to see you. You look very familiar." Coach Bloom said shaking BB's hand.

"Yes. I was at the Performance Center a few months ago for a tryout. My name is Blaine Bonin." BB replied trying to keep a smile on his face. _"Oh shit. The head coach doesn't remember me. That sucks! I wanted to make a lasting impression."_ BB thought as he shook Coach Bloom's hand.

"Bonin…Bonin…Oh yeah! The little kid with the French promo. I remember you now, kid. You shocked a lot of people with that. Anyways, we're glad you're here today because we are in need of someone with some of your skills. Now let me introduce to you who you'll be managing tonight." Coach Bloom says as he leaves the office for a second.

" _Hmm…managing tonight. Interesting. I wonder who it is. Could it be Finn Balor? That would be AWESOME! Maybe it's…."_ BB didn't get a chance to fully complete the thought as Coach Bloom returned with a bearded guy who looked like a gladiator.

"Blaine, this is Sylvester Lefort. You will be managing him tonight in his match." Coach Bloom said as the two men exchanged handshakes and pleasantries. "We have two things for you. The first things is that you will be Sylvester's voice tonight and we want you to get him booed as much as possible. The second is that we want you to come up with a ring name for tonight. Do you have any ideas?" BB thinks for a second before whispering the first name that came into his head to Coach Bloom.

"Hmm. Not bad." Coach Bloom asks and BB nods. "That was just a test to see how creative you could be. We actually came up with an idea of a name for you. Thanks to Mr. Regal, he did some quick background research on you. In your previous company, you went by Leandro Blaze. On the last few shows you participated in, you went with a combination of your real name and Leandro Blaze and went by BB Blaze. We also found out what BB stood for and came up with this name for you." BB was handed a slip of paper and he read the name on the paper.

"It's very interesting. I certainly wouldn't have come up with that." BB replied politely.

"That's who you will be tonight. Remember, kid, work the crowd and you'll be alright. Follow Sylvester here and he'll show you where the locker room is for the Superstars. But first, stop by the seamstress and she has an outfit ready for you." Coach Bloom said before walking back and talking with another wrestler. Sylvester waves BB over and they head over to the seamstress. In the hallway, the two men were stopped by Becky.

"Hey, Syl, I'll take him to the seamstress. I have to head there myself. I'll walk him to the locker room when we're done. Cool with you?" Becky asks Sylvester. He nods and walks the other direction as BB and Becky continue down the hallway.

"Don't look so nervous. You'll be fine. Just be respectful and polite and you'll do great. Okay, here is the seamstress." Becky says looking at BB—and his shaking hands—and trying to calm him down. "Hi, Julie. This is Blaine. The new Frenchman."

"Pleasure to meet you." Julie says as she and BB shook hands. "I was told a new guy was coming in to be LeFort's new associate. Here's the outfit, go ahead and try it on and we'll see if we need to do any adjustments." BB was handed the costume and he examined it carefully. The shirt was white Under Armour with Lefort's French logo sewn in the middle on the chest. The pants came with a belt that had the same colors as the French flag. What BB thought was most interesting was the fact that he was also given a beret.

" _Hmm…I guess I'm going to be full Frenchman today."_ BB thought as he slipped into the restroom and changed his clothes. After he came out, Julie and Becky were still talking as he stepped out of the restroom. Julie started walking around BB to see how the whole costume looked on him.

"It doesn't look bad at all considering the short notice in time I had. Let me see here…the pants look a little long so we need to hem them up about an inch. The belt looks a little long too, but that won't be too hard to adjust. It doesn't look too bad on you, kiddo." Julie said patting BB on the back. "If you could stand still for a couple minutes, I'll make the necessary adjustments."

"Are you ready, laddie?" Becky asks as BB takes a deep breath and nods. "Now don't run too far, I've got to get ready as well." Becky heads down to the women's locker room and BB finishes getting his outfit altered. As Julie was finishing up altering the pants, Becky returned in her plaid rocker wrestling gear and slapped him on the shoulder.

"You know, laddie, you're starting to look like a little Legionnaire in training. How do you feel?" Becky asks as her and BB walk down the hall to the makeup area. BB asks one of the crew members if he could borrow their brush, to which she smiles and happily obliges.

"Not gonna lie. I'm feeling very nervous right now, but I bet that I'll have fun as soon as I get out there." BB replies as he takes off the beret and pulls the tie from his hair and tries to comb his hair as best as he can to try to look better before tying his hair up again—this time putting the ponytail lower to give him more of a professional look. After finishing up, he hands the brush back to the stylist and she stops him and offers to hairspray his hair so it'll stay in place better, he smiles and takes a quick seat in her chair.

"Thank you very much, I really appreciate it." He said to the stylist before turning his attention back to Becky. "Thank you so much for letting me follow you around back here. It was great that I didn't have to be lonely." BB said with a small laugh.

"No worries, I know what it's like being the new kid on the block. Shouldn't you go find Sylvester and go over your stuff?" Becky asks as BB's eyes go wide.

"Oh shit! Yeah I do. Thanks for reminding me. Hopefully I'll get to see you after the show. See you later!" BB replies as he rushes off with his bags to go find the locker room. After a couple minutes of searching, he was finally able to find the locker room. As he enter, he made sure to introduce himself to everybody he didn't already know. That was one of the first things that Gail told him about the wrestling business.

" _Always make sure you introduce yourself to the veterans of the locker room and people you do not know as a show of respect. I don't think things are as bad as when I first started, but remember that in order to earn respect, you have to show it as well."_ Gail said as her words rang through BB's head.

After introducing himself to the locker room, he was able to find Sylvester. He asked if he could set his stuff down in a spot next to him because he did NOT want another incident like the one with Tyler Breeze at the tryout. To his luck, Sylvester nodded and BB let out a small sigh of relief before sitting next to Sylvester.

"Alright…is there anything in particular that I should really know about the match before we get out there?" BB asks a little nervously as Sylvester smirks.

"Yep. My match is fifth on the card. Colin Cassidy is the opponent. I have a question for you. Do you have opposition for getting physical in the match tonight?" Sylvester asks as BB shakes his head no. "Great to hear. It'll make the match that much better. Alright, this is the plan I have in mind…" Sylvester said as he started explaining to BB the ideas he had for the match.

* * *

An hour and a half later, BB is watching the matches from behind the curtain with some of the other superstars. BB is in complete amazement watching Chad Gable in the ring.

" _This guy is amazing. Then again he is a former Olympian so his technical style is astounding."_ BB thought as he was startled out of his thoughts by Becky Lynch.

"Like what you're watching out there?" Becky asks as he stretches.

"Without a doubt, Becky. I mean some of these guys are amazing to watch. You can learn so much from these guys." BB replied eagerly as he heard the bell ring and saw that Chad's arm was being raised after winning the match. As Chad was coming to the back after his match, he saw BB and gave him a smirk of acknowledgement before heading back to the locker room. Moments later, Sylvester came up to BB and Becky.

"We're up next. Are you ready?" Sylvester asks as BB takes a deep breath and nods. Becky smiles and pats BB on the back.

"You'll be great out there. I'll watch and give you support, lady. See ya later." Becky said walking away and getting ready for her match later on.

After a small intermission, Sylvester's music begins to play and Sylvester nudges him.

"We're on. Let's do this, Blaine." Sylvester says as he goes through the curtain and BB follows close behind. Almost immediately, the boos came from the crowd because the fans hated Sylvester LeFort. BB had to remember to do two things as he was walking to the ring: breathe and not pass out even though he was as nervous as can be and remember what he had to accomplish tonight.

BB walked past Sylvester onto the edge of the ring where he sat on the middle rope, opening the ropes for Sylvester. As he stepped through the ropes, Sylvester whispered something to BB.

"Don't smile, we're the heels in this match." Sylvester quickly whispered as BB quickly took the smile off his face. He didn't even realize he was smiling.

" _I guess I was too excited and caught up in the moment. Don't smile. DO. NOT. SMILE!"_ BB thought as the bell rang and the ring announcer began the introductions.

"The following contest is scheduled for ONE FALL. Introducing first. Being accompanied by Bryce St. John. From Nice, France. Weighing in at 200 pounds, Sylvester LeFort." The ring announcer said as the boos continued for both of them. After hearing the announcer say his new name, BB was trying his hardest not to smile again because this is what he has been dreaming about ever since he was eleven. BB quickly snapped out of his internal bliss when he walked over to the ring announcer and motioned for a microphone. He stood in the middle of the ring trying to speak, but he was getting shouted down by the audience. He remembered that Crimson told him to not wait for the crowd, but keep going regardless.

"Attention! Attention! If you guys would be quiet for a second. You might want to hear what I've gotta say." BB started saying as the crowd got even louder in boos. BB rolled his eyes in fake amusement before continuing with the promo.

"Vous êtes en présence de quelqu'un qui est lieues avant tout ces soi-disant 'superstars' ici en NXT." BB said in French before getting stopped once again by boos from the crowd. This time the crowd was chanting for Marcus Louis—Sylvester's former tag team partner.

BB and Sylvester started looking at each other with disgust before BB attempted to address the crowd again.

"SHUT UP! There will be no Marcus Louis tonight! He is locked up in some basement like the freak show that he is now! This man is the man you should be cheering for and chanting his name." BB said motioning over to Sylvester who raises his arms in the air. "You all should just get used to seeing this. This man—the legionnaire of NXT—will be your next NXT Champion. C'est juste une honte que personne ici, dans cette foule a l'intelligence assez élevé pour comprendre une superstar de haute qualité comme vous." BB remarks in French to Sylvester, who laughs along with BB.

Before BB could continue on with the promo, he gets cut off by Italian music playing through with the duo of Enzo Amore and Big Cass coming to the ring with deafening cheers throughout the building. After during their usual entrance spiel, Enzo turns his attention to BB and Sylvester.

"You know what I see in the ring, Big Cass? Not a cuppa haters, but a cuppa French fried taters." Enzo remarks which gets the crowd laughing before he continues. "What did they say your name was? Bryce St. John?" Enzo asks as BB nods in agreement. "Let me tell you one thing. There are only two saints in NXT and neither one of them are you." Enzo says as BB attempts to lunge out of the ring to attack Enzo as Sylvester holds him back. Enzo starts laughing at BB as he and Cass enter the ring.

"You know what Bryce? There's only ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOU TWO AND WE'RE GONNA SPELL IT OUT FOR YA!" Enzo yells as BB suddenly gets an idea.

" _Becky said this is the high point of their promo! They want us booed and I know just how to do it."_ BB thought before going on with his plan.

"S-A-W-F-…." Enzo starts to spell his signature word before being cut off with a huge slap to the face by BB. BB accomplished his goal as they were booing the two Frenchmen out of the building as they laughed at Enzo after the slap. Enzo got mad and preceded to shove BB down to the mat. BB's eyes went wide as the crowd was hoping a fight would break out between the two. As the two lunged for each other, they were held back by Sylvester, Cass, and the referee. As BB was being drug back to a corner, he was fighting once again to keep a smile off his face.

" _This is so much FUN! Glad I came down. Hopefully I didn't slap Enzo TOO hard."_ BB thought as Sylvester held the ropes for him to get out of the ring. Before he stepped off the apron, Sylvester pulled him up to quickly talk to him.

"Not bad, kid. Are you alright?" Sylvester whispered in BB's ear as BB nodded yes. Sylvester gave him a pat on the shoulder as BB jumped off the apron and the bell rang for the match to begin.

The first couple minutes of the match were the standard big guy throwing the littler guy around the ring. BB got his first chance to interfere when both he and Enzo hopped on the apron. The referee went to Enzo and BB stepped off the apron in enough time to grab the ankle of Big Cass and hold on while Sylvester started clobbering the big man from New York.

The second part of the match involved Sylvester taking full advantage of BB's distraction and working over Big Cass. After Cass was able to get out of a headlock by Sylvester, the big man started unloading on Sylvester. Cass whipped Sylvester into the ropes hoping to hit a big boot, but BB grabbed Sylvester when he hit ropes and pulled him to safety. Cass caught on and started to chase BB away. After BB got away, Cass tried to re-enter the ring, but the distraction gave Sylvester enough time to trip Cass up and Cass was thrown into the steel post. Sylvester went for the pin and he put his feet on the ropes. BB was cheering for the victory, but as the referee counted two, Enzo pushed the feet of Sylvester off the ropes and breaking the pin.

" _I have been waiting for this all match! Here we go!"_ BB thought as he jumped on the apron and into the ring and Enzo did the same thing. BB and Enzo started a screaming match in the middle of the ring. BB went for another slap, but Enzo blocked this time and slapped BB in return. BB's eyes went wide as he preceded to just spear Enzo and then two start brawling in the middle of the ring.

BB felt a little weird doing anything physical in a match because he hasn't done anything to this level in quite a few years, but the crowd was going crazy hoping that Enzo Amore would just destroy the new guy Bryce St. John. After a few moments of fighting, BB was able to get the upper hand and roll Enzo outside the ring. As he stood up, he turned around to the sight of Big Cass glaring him down. BB smiled and slowly backed up and out of the ring. When he got on the apron, Enzo was back on his feet and preceded to grab the back of BB's shirt and pants and yank him off the apron. BB believed that Enzo might have misjudged his distance or strength because when BB was pulled off, he hit his back—and the back of his head—on the barricade, which got a few people to gasp. When BB hit the floor, he started to hold the back of his head in pain.

" _SHIT! That hurts like a bitch. That's DEFITINELY going to leave a bruise tomorrow."_ BB thought as opened his eyes to see the end of the match where Big Cass hits an elbow drop on Sylvester to get the pin and the win. He could hear the crowd cheering as the ring announcer got on the microphone.

"Here is your winner…Big CASS!" The ring announcer said as Enzo and Cass were celebrating with the fans at ringside. BB slapped the floor in frustration because his head was in pain and also to keep the look of annoyance for Enzo and Cass even though he was happy they won. BB was trying to get up to go check on Sylvester, but when he got to his feet he suddenly got dizzy and stumbled to the ring apron. BB tried to hold on to the apron, but he got too dizzy and stumbled back down to the floor before laying down again. A few moments later, both Sylvester and a trainer were checking on him.

"Are you ok? What happened?" The trainer asked as BB slowly nodded his head.

"After I hit the back of my head on the barricade, I tried to get up after the match, but I got really dizzy and couldn't stand up. Almost like I was about to throw up. I'm sorry Sylvester. I didn't mean to screw this up for you." BB said sadly.

"Don't worry about it. You did fine. Accidents happen sometimes." Sylvester said patting the shoulder of BB.

"Ok, we're going to help you up and get you to the back to get you checked out. Ready?" The trainer asked as BB slowly sat up and tried to stand up. He took about three steps before starting to fall, but he was caught by Sylvester.

"That's ok. We got you." The trainer said as him and Sylvester helped BB to the back. BB tried to hide his face because he had to be carried to the back on his first time in WWE, but he heard something in the audience that prevented him from doing so. There were a couple of people in the crowd cheering at the sight of BB being alright. BB loves the fact that even though he played a French asshole to the crowd and they booed him like no other, they were happy to see that he wasn't severely injured.

As he was helped to the back, the trainer and Sylvester help him onto one of the trainer's table to see if any damage has been caused. Minutes later after the trainer ran some tests and checked him out, BB was laying on the table thinking about how in the hell he ended up like this as Becky came in—changed out of her ring gear—and sat next to him.

"That was a nasty spill you took out there, laddie. How are you feeling? Are you alright?" Becky asks as BB slowly nods.

"Besides the mild spell of dizziness that everybody saw me have earlier, I'm alright. The back of my head just stings like a bitch and I feel a little embarrassed." BB replied as Becky looked at him questioningly.

"What do you have to be embarrassed about?"

"Well…the fact that me as the manager had to be carried to the back by the trainers. And I really didn't even do much of anything."

"Blaine, that's ridiculous. Some people in our business to the simplest of things and they end up injured. The most important thing is that you are alright." Becky says as BB slowly nods and smiles.

"You're right. I guess I'm just being a little over dramatic about this. Thanks a lot, Becky. I feel much better now." BB replied as Becky pats him on the shoulder.

"What are friends for, laddie? So…how was it being out there for your first NXT show?" Becky asks as BB laughs.

"It was amazing! I really can't describe the feeling. I haven't heard a crowd this energetic in a long time." BB answers as the trainer comes back.

"Well, Blaine, even though you had the mild dizziness earlier, the tests showed that you do not have a concussion. You will probably have a nasty headache and some soreness at the worst, but I highly recommend you take it easy tonight as a precaution. I would probably not fly out tonight just to be safe as well." The trainer said as BB thanked him as he slowly sits up on the table.

"This sucks a little bit. I have to cancel my flight back tonight and I didn't book any hotel." BB says as Becky pats him on the back.

"This is great news for you, BB." Becky says as BB looks at her wondering what other great news there was. "First, you get a clean bill of health. Also, you actually DO have a place to stay tonight!"

"Where?"

"You can stay at my place tonight, BB." Becky replies. BB tries to speak up, but Becky shuts him down. "No excuses! I will NOT take no for an answer."

"…I guess my decision has been made for me. I really appreciate it, Becky. At least let me do something in return for you." BB replies.

"You don't have to do ANYTHING, laddie! This is what friends do. Help their friends without expecting anything in return. No more arguing, get cleaned up and let's finish watching the rest of the show." Becky says as she helps BB off the table and he walks back to the locker room.

After showering and changing, BB is trying to find Becky. As he looks around, he spots Enzo and Cass talking. BB wants to be nice, so he decides to talk to them really quick.

"I just wanted to say thanks so much for letting me be a part of your match. And…I'm sorry if I slapped ya a little too hard. I got a little caught up in the moment." BB says getting Enzo and Cass' attention.

"No sweat, kid. Been slapped much harder in my time, so this G knows how to take a hit. How are you feeling after that spill? Sorry 'bout that. I guess I pulled you a little too hard off the apron." Enzo asks as BB smiles and offers to shake Enzo's hand—which he accepts.

"Don't worry about it. I'm feeling much better. I have a small headache, but a couple of bumps and bruises come with the territory, right?" BB replies.

"Exactly. It was fun working with you, too. Hopefully we get to see you around more. See you later." Cass says as they go their separate ways. Moments later, BB finds Becky walking back towards the locker room after watching the end of the main event by the curtain.

"Hey! How was the main event?" BB asks Becky, who motions towards the reigning NXT Champion Adrian Neville as he walks towards the locker room.

"That man is so great to watch in the ring, and his Red Arrow finisher? It's a thing of beauty, laddie! Are you ready to go?" Becky asks as BB nods as he holds his bag in his hand. "Alright. Take your car back to the rental place and I will pick you up there. See you in a bit, BB!" BB smiled as he grabbed the keys from his bag and proceeded to head back to the car-rental place and wait for Becky.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, BB already returned his car and he was sitting in the lobby waiting for Becky when he decides to pull out his phone and get on Twitter. There were already people tweeting rumors that he was heading to WWE. BB rolled his eyes at his feed.

" _Some people have nothing better to do than feed rumors! It's kind of amusing...and endearing!"_ BB thought as he retweeted a few things before he heard a horn honk and saw Becky waving him over.

"Sorry I was late. The bus took a little longer to get started than usual. Now let's head back to my place." Becky said driving out of the parking lot.

"Hey! Thank you very much for letting me stay at your place tonight, Becky. I mean you barely know me, but I really appreciate it." BB said after a moment of silence as Becky smiles and shakes her head.

"Think nothing of it. I've heard stuff about you whenever your sister came into the PC. You seem like a hardworking kid who really wants to be in this business badly. I respect that…and you're pretty cool." Becky replies continuing to drive.

BB smiled at that response. It was completely awesome that he was able to gain a wrestler's respect—especially someone who has been wrestling for a long time like Becky Lynch. Now—more than ever—he was determined to get into WWE by whatever method possible. He wanted to make sure that respect he earned from people like Gail and Becky was not lost or unwarranted.

* * *

Minutes later, the two arrived at Becky's place and were walking in the door when she dropped her bag by the door and escorted BB to the extra bedroom.

"You'll be staying in here tonight. Bathroom is down the hall and the kitchen is the other way. I only have two major rules. One, clean up after yourself. Two, do NOT my Guilt Free brownies or I will kill you! Other than that, my bedroom is across the hall and get me if you need me. Good night, BB." Becky said as she went to her room across the hall. BB sighed and decided to change for bed because his headache was being more annoying than ever. As BB tried to fall asleep, he realized that even with the little bump on the noggin, he was happy he came down to Florida.

The next morning, BB was sleeping pretty well when he was woken up by his cell phone ringing. BB checked the Caller ID and wondered why the hell his sister would be calling him at seven in the morning.

"Hello." BB answered trying to shake the grogginess out of his voice.

"Thank god you aren't in a hospital or anything. You scared mom half to death, you know. Why the hell didn't you call or text or anything. Are you ok, Blaine?" Kaitlyn asks.

"I'm alright. Just ended up with a knot on the back of my head and a headache. Other than that, I'm good. How did mom know that I got hurt?" BB replied questioning Kaitlyn.

"Yeah…that was my bad. I called her and asked if you talked to her. She asked why and I brought up that you were taken from ringside by the trainers with a possible injury. Well…you know mom. I said you were probably fine because your head was the hardest part of your body." Kaitlyn answered with a small chuckle.

"How did YOU hear about that?" BB asked again.

"Dirt sheets. Just kidding! Come on, Blaine. A friend of yours was able to get my number and she let me know that you had a spill. I'm happy that someone was worried about you like mom was…and me too."

"I'm sorry, Katie. I didn't mean to make you and mom worry. I was going to call you both today and tell you about that and that I had the time of my life! I promise, next time I will call you or mom as soon as possible." BB said feeling really bad that he didn't call anybody before he fell asleep last night.

"Don't think too much of it. You know how mom worries about both of us. Hey! I've gotta go. I'll talk to later. Love you!" Kaitlyn says.

"Love you too, Katie. Bye!" BB replies hanging up the phone and getting out of bed. He found the brush in his gym bag and brushed the knots out of his hair. He didn't have much to do today, so he left his hair down and went to find Becky. He walked into the kitchen to find Becky cooking something on the stove. A moment later, Becky spotted BB and gave him a small smirk.

"Morning sunshine! I see you just got out of bed." Becky said noticing that BB was still in the sweatpants and tank top he wore to bed last night. "I'm just teasing. You probably needed to get rid of that headache, anyway. Sit down, I made a couple of batches of protein pancakes. You probably need the energy." Becky said as BB nodded. Before he sat down, he did something his shyness and introverted tendencies never allowed him to do—he gave Becky a hug. She looked stunned and his face was beet red from blushing after he let go of the hug.

"Becky, I am so sorry for doing something like that! I mean we barely know each other, but I couldn't think of any better way to say thank you." BB said as he sat down next to Becky as she let out a small laugh.

"Laddie, they're just pancakes. You don't have to get too emotional over them. It isn't a big deal!" Becky replied as BB shook his head no.

"No. It was actually thank you for being a good friend and telling my sister that I was alright. I mean I am really grateful that you did that." BB replied with a small smile. Becky smiled and returned his hug with a hug of her own.

"Like I've said before, laddie, that is what friends do. We watch out for each other. Whether you like it or not, we are friends and you can't get rid of me that easy. Besides, I've seen your sister's spears. I didn't want either of us to be victim of her Spear-it. Get it? Spirit…spear-it? Where do I come up with these?" Becky says starting to laugh at her own pun as BB joins in shortly after.

* * *

Hours later, BB was walking into the WWE Performance Center after receiving a call from William Regal saying that Mr. Levesque wanted to talk to him. BB didn't know what to expect, so he decided to try to look as professional as possible wearing the nicest (and only) dress clothes he brought with him—black slacks and a red polo shirt as well as put the ponytail back in his hair. Becky came along for support…and for the fact that she forgot that she had him drop his car back at the rental shop and had to drop him off at the airport later today. After checking in with the secretary, he was escorted back to the conference room where he had his interview three months ago during his tryout. About five minutes later, Mr. Levesque and Mr. Regal came into the room. BB stood with respect and shook both men's hands as all three sat down.

"Good to see you, Blaine. How are you doing this afternoon?" Mr. Levesque asked.

"I'm doing very good, thank you very much." BB answered with a polite smile. "I wanted to say thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to participate in an NXT Live Event. It was an amazing experience.

"I'm glad you feel that way. William Regal and I wanted to give you a little feedback regarding last night's event to help you in your future career." Mr. Levesque said before Mr. Regal started with his critique.

"First off, the promo you gave was not bad. You got the crowd to boo you, but in my personal opinion, I wasn't fully convinced you could play a heel character." William said as BB nodded and tried to keep a neutral face.

" _Damn…I guess I did worse than I thought I did. This sucks!"_ BB thought as William continued.

"I will say that you do play the role of a manager quite well, dear boy. You are able to change yourself enough to match the wrestler you manage, but still able to stay your own character. Also, the crowd was certainly into the interactions you had with Enzo Amore. It was probably some of the loudest crowd noises of the night. I will tell you that after the end of the match, you did alter my opinion slightly." William said as BB looked at him questioningly. "You did prove to me that you certainly have the potential to be a great all around character. You just need to fine tune your abilities. May I ask, dear boy, have you had any formal training in your career at all?" William Regal asked. BB shook his head no.

"I have not, sir. Everything I have learned up to this point was from learning on the fly and watching other wrestlers or I had about a month to practice and learn enough to be convincing." BB replied with clear honesty as William nodded his head and turned to Paul.

"That was his biggest weakness. He's inexperienced and has very little formal training in the ring outside of the basic beginner's bumps. That explains so much." William said as Paul nodded.

"If you could hold your own against people who have been here for a while like Enzo, I can only imagine what you could do with formal training under your belt." Paul said as William agreed. "My last question to you, Blaine, is would you be able to be in Florida before February?" Paul asks as BB was confused by the question.

"You mean to do another live event? I mean yeah because February is plenty enough time to organize travel arrangements and secure fun…."BB tried to answer before Paul cut him off laughing.

"That's not what I meant. I mean would you be able to move to Florida before February. Maybe this will help you understand what I meant." Paul said with a smirk as he pulled a fancy leather folder with the WWE logo on the front. BB was staring at the folder completely dumbfounded and eyes wide for what seemed like an eternity before he could find any words to say.

"You mean…you…want me?" BB asked barely getting the question to come out above a whisper.

"We do. We want you to be part of our developmental program. You are very green and rough around the edges, but if we help you fine-tune what you already know, than I can see you having a very accomplished career in WWE before all is said and done. Congratulations, Blaine." Paul said handing a pen to BB. BB nodded and read through the contract as a formality because he was just offered the contract of his dreams. He flipped over to the last page signing his name.

"What's today's date?" BB asked.

"December…the 16th." William answered as BB tried to keep his hand from shaking. He quickly filled in the date before exchanging farewells with Paul and William before exiting the room. He had to get out as fast as he could because if he didn't, he would have broken down and started crying in front of his new boss. Seconds later, BB found a secluded place in the PC where he took a moment and started crying. The day was bittersweet because December 16th used to bring back memories of a horrible past, but now it brings memories of a happier future. After a few minutes of silent sobbing, BB composed himself and called the first person he knew would want to know the news.

"Hey, Blaine, what's up?" Kaitlyn says answering the phone.

"Hey, Katie, are you busy?" Blaine said with a little scruff in his voice. Kaitlyn caught on pretty quickly.

"No. Me and Seth are just driving to the arena for the show. Are you ok? You sound like you've been crying." Kaitlyn replied very concerned.

"I have been. Do you know what today is?" BB asked.

"Yeah. December 16….OH! Blaine I forgot I'm sorry. How could I forget the day your dad got arrested and you put in the hospital…and the day your mother died?" Kaitlyn said sadly.

"Don't worry about it. It gets easier as time goes on, but today also means something else." BB said.

"What is it? Don't leave me in suspense." Kaitlyn asked anxiously.

"It's the day that you now have to work with your little brother. Katie, I got signed!" BB answer as he heard Kaitlyn start screaming. He also heard Seth mutter out 'Ouch, Kaitlyn! What the hell?' which got BB laughing.

"Oh my god, congratulations! I'm so happy for you. When do you have to be in Florida?" Kaitlyn asks.

"They want me down before February. When they called me, I was expecting the worst. Katie, thank you so much for being there for me. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem. I'm glad things are working out for you. We just reached the arena. Text me after the show. Love you, Blaine. Bye."

"Love you too, Katie." BB said hanging up the phone and going to find Becky. After finding Becky talking to the front receptionist, they left the PC and headed to the airport so BB doesn't miss his flight.

* * *

"So how was the meeting with Mr. Levesque?" Becky asked while they were waiting on the freeway.

"It was very eventful to say the least. Thanks for being a chauffeur today, Becky." BB replied when they reached the airport and BB was grabbing his bags out of the trunk.

"Don't worry. Next time you're in Florida, you can drive me around town." Becky said laughing.

"I think I got one better…would have any problems with a roommate for a few months?" BB asks.

"Well, not really. Laddie, I don't see why you need to…." Becky tried to say before cutting herself off. "Really? Really?! Oh laddie, that's good news!"

"Thanks Becky! I've gotta get going. My flight is boarding. I'll text you when I get back to Houston. Bye!" BB said as him and Becky parted ways. As he got seated for his flight, he leaned his head back on the seat and just thought about how today was just amazing.

" _Dreams do come true!"_

* * *

 **Here is the end of the Chapter! Hopefully you guys enjoyed it. I apologize ahead of time for any inconsistencies or inaccuracies.**

 **BB finally got his dream job, but the question is will he have what it takes to KEEP the job. He also made his NXT debut as Bryce St. John. He got a little rocked, but no pain, no gain, right? What do you guys think of the ring name? Let me know your feedback on anything in the chapter!**

 **Also, I have an idea for the next chapter. I plan on including a Twitter/Facebook session where BB will answer 5 (maybe more) of his fans' questions. If anybody wants to take part and contribute a question that you would like BB to answer in the next chapter, feel free to PM me a question.**

 **Thank you all again for reading!**


	5. Dream Come True

**I'm back with another chapter of Learning the Ropes. It took a while for me to get to this point because I was not sure what direction to take BB. Hopefully you guys enjoy.**

* * *

"Geez, I didn't know you had that much stuff. You're only moving into the spare bedroom, NOT your own house." Becky remarked helping BB carry some boxes into her house.

"I know. I didn't think I had that much stuff." BB replied setting boxes on the floor of his new bedroom.

BB had wondered if Becky would be uncomfortable with her rooming with a guy she only knew for a couple of months. To his surprise, she was completely open to the idea. Of course, there were a few ground rules like neither one can run around naked or in their underwear and who does what chore on which day. Overall, it was two adults who are both living their dream right now…even though BB has yet to start at the Performance Center.

"Says every person who has to travel for a living. Then they realize that they have too much crap when they have to move everything." Becky says putting her last box on the floor in BB's room. "Was that the last of it?"

"Yeah. I have the last box right now. Thanks so much for your help with everything. It means a lot to me." BB replies putting his last box on the floor and sitting down.

"So when exactly do you report to the PC?" Becky asks sitting on the mattress.

"I start next Monday, so I have about ten days to get everything unpacked." BB said laughing as Becky smirked.

"Yeah, but get as much done as you can today because sometime this week, I am taking you to my favorite CrossFit gym in town." Becky said.

"It's interesting, but I think I would look like an idiot because I really haven't done major weights in months. I would just look clumsy." BB replied laying back on the floor as Becky lightly kicked his shin.

"You will be fine! Besides, Seth recommended it and he was right." Becky said.

"Yeah…isn't he a CrossFit Jesus or something?" BB asks as the two bust up laughing. "I don't about you, but I am STARVING. Let's get something to eat before we get back to work on all this."

* * *

Two weeks later, BB began his journey by beginning training at the WWE Performance Center. After his third day there, he was being helped into the house by Becky. Becky helped BB sit on the couch as she brought him the ice packs that were in the freezer.

"Here ya go. How are ya feeling?" Becky asks sitting next to BB and turning on the television for some background noise.

"Oh god! I feel sore as shit right now. You would think that after a couple of days of training that the soreness would start to go away little by little. I think mine has gotten WORSE. I never had this much pain when I was working in the ring before." BB answers as he places the ice bags on his back and his neck.

"How long have you been in pro wrestling?" Becky asks as BB looks at her confused and as he tries to figure out how long in his head.

"About…four and a half years." BB answers.

"And how long have you been formally trained to be a WRESTLER?"

"About…three days." BB says as he starts blushing with embarrassment. Becky nods her head.

"That's why you hurt so much. You are not exactly a rookie in the business, but you have NEVER been formally trained. I mean I take nothing away from the people who worked with you before for what physical interactions you had, but actual WRESTLING training is a different story. Believe me, BB. It does get easier the more you do it. Do you regret your decision now that you see how tough it can be?" Becky asks.

"Hell no. Becky, I have wanted this for so long. You don't remember how depressing and frustrating it was for me to sit back and watch my sister be living my dream. Don't get me wrong, I love her to death; I was the one who watched wrestling almost religiously when we were little. It was like my little sanctuary away from my home life. Away from all the pain…from all the hurt…from all the hate." BB said looking down at the floor.

"What do you mean 'all the hurt and hate'?" Becky asks genuinely confused. BB takes a deep breath before answering her question. If they were going to be friends—much less roommates—he was going to have to step into that realm of pain he hasn't had to talk about in a very long time.

"You see, I haven't told very many people about my past. My friend Crimson barely even knows the details about it, but I completely trust you that you will not tell anybody what I am about to tell you…right?" BB asks as Becky nods her head. BB is trying to keep his emotions in check as he continues his story.

"Ok…the first thing is that me and Kaitlyn are not biological siblings. She was my cousin. Me and my older brother Chance were adopted by my aunt and uncle when I was nine." BB said.

"What happened to your parents? Did they pass away?" Becky quietly asks. BB quickly sniffles before continuing the story.

"Yes and no. My mom passed away when I was seven. Cancer. She fought so hard, but it was just too much. My dad…well he's in jail back in my home state of Oklahoma." BB answers trying to hold back tears. "…for Child abuse among other things." Becky's eyes go wide at BB's revelation.

"After my mom died, I don't know if my dad snapped or if he just gave up, but everything changed. He started drinking heavily and sleeping with random skanks…probably to his own pain away I really don't know. Soon after, he started taking out his aggression out on us. First it was just a shove, then it was a slap, and then it led to punches. I ended up in the hospital once and that didn't even stop him."

"How did he end up being arrested? If you don't mind my asking, how come you didn't tell anybody?"

"I honestly don't remember because I didn't come back home until the day after he was arrested. I was too afraid to tell anybody because I was afraid that if he found out I turned him in that I would be hurt worse. For years, I always thought it was me that was the problem…that it was all my fault. I only went to see my dad once when he was in jail. Probably the biggest mistake of my life. He said things that no amount of therapy can have you forget. Pretty much called me worthless and a waste of space. Said I wouldn't accomplish anything in my life. Do you know how much it destroyed me hearing that your own father didn't want you at all? I…I…." BB couldn't even get that last sentence out because he lost his composure and started crying. Honestly, he probably needed to do all this now because he had been keeping these emotions bottled up for over ten years and it has been eating away at him. Seconds later, Becky had her arms around him in a hug trying to console him the best she could because she had no idea the pain he was feeling was that severe.

After a couple of minutes of sitting in silence and trying to get himself back together, BB calmed down and finished his story.

"Now you can see why I want this so much. My uncle…my dad…always told me that if I ever had a dream to do something that I should go for it and let nobody tell me differently. Ever since I was twelve, I've always wanted to be a WWE Superstar. Now that I'm on the brink of succeeding, I will not let anything stand in my way. I am more determined than ever to do this." BB said as he finished wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but why haven't you told anybody about your past?" Becky asks in return.

"I never wanted to gain anything from pity or be treated any differently because of what I went through. I just believed that the past was my past and now I'm focusing on my future."

"Laddy, that's very noble of you, but you shouldn't bottle up your emotions like that or you are just gonna explode and the results will be disgoostin'." Becky replied with her Irish accent thicker than usual, which got BB laughing.

"Becky. You are an awesome friend. Thanks so much. I feel much better." BB said with a small smile across his face.

"It's no problem. That's what friends are for. They help pick you up when you're down. If there's anything else you ever need to talk about, feel free to talk to me anytime." Becky said patting BB on the back before heading back to her room. BB did not feel like moving off the couch, so he decided to get comfortable and take a nap. He did realize one thing: he actually did feel much better after venting to Becky.

" _It felt good to trust somebody again. Hmm…maybe I DO need to let a few more people in."_ BB thought before he fell asleep.

* * *

One month later, BB was coming into his own at the Performance Center. Even though he was not improving at the pace he wanted, he was slowly and surely growing with each and every lesson. He could not wait until he got another chance to get into the ring. After practice one day, BB was talking on the phone with Kaitlyn—trying to convince her on watching something.

"Come on, Katie! It's on Netflix, so you can start watching at any time." BB said before Kaitlyn said something in return. "Yes! I do believe that Arrow is a great show. There's action, drama, and even a little bit of romance."

BB rolls his eyes at his sister's response. "If that doesn't convince you, then how about there are strong and empowering female characters along with guys who run around half naked." BB replies looking like he is about to throw up after talking about the guys. After that statement, BB starts laughing.

"See! I had a feeling you would see it differently. Could you at least give it a chance? I mean…." BB answered before being cut off by a worker telling him that they wanted to see him in the offices. "Hey. I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later. Bye." BB said hanging up the phone and heading to the office.

" _I wonder what they need from me. Did I do something or NOT do something? I guess I'll find out."_ BB thought as he walked into the office and saw Triple H waiting for him.

"Blaine. It's good to see you. How are things going for you at the PC?" Triple H asks as he shakes BB's hand.

"It's been so far so good. It's been a few short weeks, but it's been great to get a full in-depth learning experience. Is there something I can help you with?" BB asked cautiously.

"We have some good news and some bad news. The good news was we were going to bring you up for the next tapings with Sylvester LeFort and continue your gimmick from the live event." Triple H says as BB gets visibly excited.

"You were? That's awesome! I mean I was not expecting to be on TV this early, but….wait you said was." BB replies as Triple H nods.

"That's the bad news. Sylvester is out with an injury and will be out for the foreseeable future and that leaves you managing nobody, unfortunately." Triple H says patting BB on the shoulder.

"It's completely alright. I'm extremely grateful that I was even considered to be on the show. I really appreciate the faith you have in me. There's always next time." BB says getting a little depressed, but not letting it get him down.

"That's the spirit. Look on the bright side. Now you get a chance to go solo and see how you can do. When one door closes another opens. I wanted to tell you that you are doing a good job and keep up the good work. Remember that anything can happen before our next TV taping in six weeks." Triple H says as he shakes BB's hand and exits the office. BB smiles and follows suit.

* * *

A month later, BB is eating a quick lunch with Chad and Becky chatting about different things that happened during practice.

"Speaking of interesting, was that the gimmick you have been working on the last few weeks, Blaine?" Chad asks BB who nods.

"Yeah. It wasn't exactly my best work, but I've never been a solo act before. Give me some credit." BB says smiling before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"The best you came up with was a honkytonk cowboy gimmick?" Chad asked before starting to laugh along with Becky. BB rolls his eyes and smiles.

"Come on! It's the WWE. It's supposed to have quirky and crazy gimmicks. That's what makes it fun. And I'm from Oklahoma, so it was easy." BB replies.

"I bet you had lasso up some lessons in roping did ya, cowboy?" Becky asked in a fake southern accent trying to tease BB which got all three laughing.

"I had a little twang to my voice, anyway. I just further amplified it." BB said with a proud look on his face. "Enough teasing me. Let's get back to practice."

When they went back to the PC, BB and Chad were walking towards the locker room when they heard someone shouting. They recognized one of the voices as William Regal, but they didn't know who the other one was.

"I just don't understand why this is going on this way." The voice said.

"I get that you're frustrated, but you are a very talented man and I know you can come up with a gimmick that will knock the fans out of their seats." Regal replied.

"It just sucks that you work so hard on something than it's gone and you have to start back at square one all over again."

"I completely understand. If you think that if I never had a rough patch throughout my career in the ring, you would be sadly mistaken. Remember that everything happens for a reason. Do not take this as a knock on your ability, dear boy. I think you are one of the most talented people here. You need to get out of your own head and just do what you do best."

"Thanks, Mr. Regal. I'll see you later." The voice says as he leaves. BB and Chad were slowly walking past the office, trying not to look too obvious because they wanted to know who had a breakdown. Five seconds later, the man in the office started walking behind the two and the man turned out to be Tye Dillinger. Tye looked to be a little distraught and not fully focusing because as he was walking down the hall, he practically shoved BB and Chad out of the way.

"Sorry guys…I didn't see you there." Tye said not truly sounding sincere. BB and Chad look at each other before answering Tye.

"It's all good. Probably a tough day training, right?" Chad asks as Tye slowly nods.

"Is everything ok, Tye?" BB asks.

"Everything's peachy! See ya later." Tye answers glaring at BB before walking away.

"What did I do?" BB asks confused. Chad shrugs and pats BB on the shoulder.

"Probably nothing. You heard the discussion Tye had with Mr. Regal. He's frustrated and you ended up in front of both barrels. I wouldn't take it personally. Let's hurry up and hit the weight room before people realize we're late." Chad answers as him and BB hustle to the weight room.

* * *

A week later, BB was walking into the PC with Kaitlyn, who was in town for a few days.

"Honestly, I don't know what I did to the guy, but ever since I asked him a question. He has given me the 'Go to Hell' looks every chance he got. It's like he hates me or something. I wish I knew what it was." BB says waving hello to the front receptionist.

"Blaine, I think you are paranoid about this. Maybe Tye has you mistaken for somebody else. I highly doubt that he hates you. You should stop focusing on Tye Dillinger and focus on Blaine Bonin, NXT Superstar." Kaitlyn says patting BB on the shoulder.

"You're right, Katie. Not everybody is gonna like me, so I might as well get over it and just get back into my training." BB replies smiling as they continue to the locker rooms. Seconds later, BB and Kaitlyn are stopped in the hallway by Dana Brooke.

"Hey, Blaine. I'm glad I caught you." Dana says with a serious look as BB wonders what she needs.

"Yeah. I just got here. Did you need help with something, Dana?" BB asks as Dana shakes her head.

"I don't, but Triple H wants to see you in the office as soon as possible." Dana replies as BB nods.

"Ok. I better head there now. Thanks, Dana." BB replies as Dana walks away and he looks at Kaitlyn.

"I wonder what that was about?" Kaitlyn asks.

"I don't know, but I guess I'm about to find out. I'll find you later, Katie!" BB replies as he heads to Triple H's office. A minute later, he knocks on the door and is quickly told to come in. As he enters, he quickly sees the one person he really didn't want to see sitting in the chair next to his: Tye Dillinger.

"Blaine, I'm glad you could join us so quickly. Please take a seat." Triple H says as BB takes a seat. Tye is staring daggers into BB and BB tries as hard as he can not to look at Tye.

"I'm glad that you two are both here. Now let me tell you why you both are here." Triple H says looking at both Tye and BB before continuing. "First off, I will say that the trainers have been noticing there seems to be a little tension between the two of you. Do you believe there is?"

"I honestly don't think there's any tension because I've hardly said three words to the guy." BB answers after a few seconds of silence. Tye rolls his eyes before he answers.

"There's no tension because, quite frankly, we've really never worked together and we really don't know each other. All I know is that he's Kaitlyn's baby brother." Tye slowly says with a small smirk on his face. BB's eyes go wide at that statement. BB thought that was a low blow and all BB wanted to do right now is slap that smirk off his face.

"Alright, Tye. That's enough! We are a family down here and whatever this thing is going on between you two is going to be worked out. Which is why I have decided that you will be returning to NXT TV at the next tapings, Tye." Triple H says as Tye's smile gets bigger by the second.

" _Whoopdie do for him! How does this involve me?"_ BB thought rolling his eyes. Tye continues to thank Triple H before Triple H continues.

"I'm not done yet, Tye. You will be returning to TV…but with a new manager." Triple H continues as both Tye's and BB's jaws drop.

"Do you mean…?" Tye tries to ask before being cutoff again by Triple H.

"That's right. You will be managed by the debuting Blaine St. John." Triple H finishes. Even though he couldn't believe he would be working with Tye, BB couldn't keep the smile off of his face when his boss was telling him that he was making his NXT debut.

"Hopefully you guys get on the same page…or at least the same book before tapings because they are a week from Thursday. Good luck and congrats, gentlemen." Triple H says walking out of the office as Tye and BB stare at each other wondering how in the hell did they end up in a situation like this.

* * *

 **Here is Chapter 5. It's a little short and I could've gone on MUCH longer, but I wanted to get something out to you guys. What do you guys think of me putting BB and the Perfect 10 together as a team? Hopefully you guys will like it. Within the hour, I plan on putting up a poll for a little help for BB. I have a bunch of names I wanted BB to go by when he made his TV debut...so I'll let you guys help decide. I would greatly appreciate it if you would vote and let your opinion be known.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**


	6. NXT Debut

**I'm back with more fun in Learning the Ropes. This would have been up much sooner, but I had midterms for school and two of my best friends got married. Hopefully you all enjoy! By the way...the results of my poll will be revealed in the chapter.**

* * *

"I really thought he was joking, but boy was I wrong. I get to make my TV debut at the next tapings, but I have to be associated with Tye Dillinger for god's sake." BB exclaimed as he vented to Kaitlyn back at BB's house.

"I thought you were ecstatic to be on NXT so soon?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Oh, I am! Don't get me wrong. I am very grateful that I'm going to TV so quickly as a manager, but why did it have to be with the one guy on the roster who annoys me…and hates me more than life itself?" BB whined as he fell back into a recliner, which got Kaitlyn laughing.

"Blaine, I get what you me by working with a guy who is a pain in your ass, but welcome to reality, kiddo. Sometimes you have to be civil and work with people you don't like. When exactly are the tapings?" Kaitlyn asked in reply.

"They are this coming Thursday." BB answered looking at the ceiling.

"I'm kind of curious…what kind of storyline are you two going to be in?" Kaitlyn asks as BB sits up and groans.

"I have an idea that I want to do, but I haven't been able to find Tye at all to get his input on it. Every time I try to talk to him. He always says he has to go for one reason or another. I know he's trying to avoid me. I'm not stupid." BB replied.

"Are you guys aware that tapings are on THURSDAY? That is five days away! And you guys have no idea where this alliance is going." Kaitlyn explained to BB, who rolled his eyes.

"I know that, Katie. I will say that the writers did give us a basis for where to start. Then Mr. Regal told us to build from that…which I did. And I asked if I could change my name away from Bryce St. John and they approved so I'm happy." BB said smiling.

"Don't get too happy. You still have to figure shit out with Tye before Thursday. How are you going to manage that?" Kaitlyn asks as BB shrugs.

"I don't know. I guess I'm going to have to be civil and work with him on this. I'll figure something out." BB says taking a deep breath and sighing. "I still don't understand what I did to make him detest me so much."

"Are you sure you're not being just a little paranoid, Blaine. You told me that he sounded very frustrated with where he was going. You were probably just the unfortunate person who was in front of the barrel, so to speak." Kaitlyn replied.

"Possibly, but most people would be happy when they get a storyline. Tye was ecstatic that he got a storyline. His face fell ten seconds later when he found out that it was with me. It's been driving me crazy because I really wanna know what I did to piss him off." BB said slapping the couch with frustration.

"Blaine! Don't get too caught up thinking about what you are doing wrong to piss somebody off. Put your thinking into how you are going to make this storyline interesting." Kaitlyn says trying to comfort her brother. BB falls back onto the couch and looks to the ceiling wondering how he was gonna get through this.

* * *

After BB got done working out in the ring on Tuesday, BB made his number one goal to stop and talk to Tye about their NXT stuff…whether Tye wanted to or not. As BB was making his way out of the locker room, he was quickly stopped by William Regal.

"Blaine, dear boy. How are things going for you? Are you excited for the tapings coming up in a couple of days?" William asks.

"Things are going pretty good. I'm excited, but I'm also a little nervous. I mean it is my debut on TV. I just want things to go well." BB replies as William lets out a small chuckle.

"You have nothing to worry about, dear boy. I bet you will do splendidly. Have you had any ideas on your storyline by chance?" William asks as BB pulls out a spiral notebook which has all the notes and ideas he has had about everything…from costumes to end results. BB hands the notebook to William and he flips through it.

"As you can see, I've been really excited about this and jotted down whatever idea that came into my head that will make it work. So…what do you think?" BB asks nervously. William looks up from the notebook and smirks.

"I see you've been busy planning this out from top to bottom. I admire your spirit and dedication, Blaine. I think we can accommodate some of your ideas within the storyline." William replies as BB smiles with excitement.

"Really? That would be amazing! Thank you so much. I would be honored." BB says with joy ringing in his voice as he shakes William's hand. Seconds later, Tye starts to walk past the two; not before William catches him.

"Mr. Dillinger, splendid work out there in practice today." William says patting Tye on the back.

"Thanks, Mr. Regal." Tye says completely ignoring BB. "I've been wanting to talk to you about this storyline coming up."

"What about it?" William asks as BB keeps silent because he really wants to hear how this plays out.

"It sounds like an interesting idea playing around with this 'Perfect 10' idea, but do you really think that a manager is…necessary?" Tye asks as BB's jaw drops.

" _He's trying to get me removed from the storyline! What a jackoff! Two can play at this game."_ BB thought as tries to enter himself in the conversation.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think that a manager…." BB tries to say before being cut off.

"Not now! The adults are talking." Tye says condescendingly before looking back at William. "I mean come on, Mr. Regal. If we keep the manager, it will take away from the main part of the gimmick. What do you think?"

"You do have a point, Tye." Mr. Regal says as BB eyes widen and Tye gets a shit-eating grin on his face. "But it's because of these little tiffs that you two are having all the time that you two were put together in the first place." William finishes before pointing at NXT's soon to be debuting team.

"This will go either one of two ways. You will either find a way to work together and get yourselves over; you will continue to throw temper tantrums against each other and embarrass yourselves on National television." William says as he looks down at Tye and BB. "I will give you this warning once and only once…if it goes the second way…you might as well say 'best of luck in your future endeavors'. Good day, gentlemen." Mr. Regal says smiling before walking away leaving both men dumbstruck. Five seconds later, Tye gets into BB's face.

"Thanks a lot! This is your fault, you know. Now it's either work with you or get fired." Tye says as BB almost backing away from Tye; then BB realizes that his job is on the line too.

"My fault? Don't be blaming me! In case you didn't hear, MY job is on the line too…and I just got here." BB says pointing a finger in Tye's chest. "So do NOT be getting mad at me because you hit a plateau in your career and all I'm doing is trying to help you. Speaking of help, what exactly did I do to you to make you so angry at me?" BB asks as Tye turns away.

"It doesn't matter. Now listen to me very carefully. I'm willing to be civil and work with you, but don't get any ideas that this is the beginning of some friendship. This is strictly business." Tye says turning back into BB's face. "So do NOT mess…."

"Is there a problem here?" A voice asks cutting Tye off. Both men turn and see Seth walking down the hallway.

"There's no problem…see you Thursday." Tye says looking at Seth and glaring at BB before walking away. Seth walks over to BB and pats him on the shoulder.

"Are you alright? Was there a problem between the two of you?" Seth asks as BB shakes his head.

"There's no problem. Just the utter excitement of working with the new guy." BB says looking down the hallway.

"I don't get it. Tye Dillinger has always been one of the nicest guys down here whenever I train. I wonder what his deal is?" Seth asks confused on Tye's recent change in attitude.

"It's me." BB says as Seth looks at him funny. "He didn't start getting this attitude until he saw me. It got worse. Maybe I should let step away from this and try again on the next storyline." BB says sadly before getting slapped in the back of the head by Seth. "What was that for?"

"You're lucky it was me who heard that and not your sister. What happened to the Blaine that amazed everybody during tryouts by telling off a loudmouth…in FRENCH? What happened to my girlfriend's little brother who she said would work his ass off to prove himself and prove haters wrong? What…." Seth asks before being cut off by BB—who couldn't take any more.

"He got bullied! He got bullied and put into a no-win situation." BB answers starting to break down. Seth sees what's about to happen and pulls BB into an empty room and closes the door. Seth grabs BB into a quick hug as BB lets his emotions out. The hug is broken about a minute later as BB grabs a towel from his gym bag to wipe his eyes and his face.

"Sorry about that, Seth. I shouldn't have done that." BB says after calming down and cleaning his face.

"Don't worry about it. Answer me this. How badly do you want to be a WWE Superstar?" Seth says patting BB on the back.

"Very badly."

"You know that to become a WWE Superstar there will sometimes be competition to get onto TV and get storylines. Sometimes tempers will flare, but you gotta realize that if you get bullied off of one storyline, they will more than likely bully you off of another one and you might not get your chance. You know that, right?" Seth asks as BB nods before he continues. "Kaitlyn tells me every day that she is very proud of you. Now are you gonna let some guy frustrated with himself crush your dreams?"

"No." BB answers with a weak voice before clearing his throat and trying again. "No, I won't."

Seth smiles and gives BB another hug. "Now we will be watching NXT to see you. Remember to stand up for yourself." Seth says opening the door before turning back to BB. "You know, I kinda consider you a younger brother to me. Not just because I'm dating your older sister. If anybody else gives you shit that you can't handle, feel free to call me."

BB smiles at Seth's revelation. "Thank you. That means a lot to me." BB replies following Seth out the door with a much better outlook on everything.

* * *

"Why the hell would you consider doing something so stupid, Blaine? Do you wanna tattoo 'Kill my Career' on your forehead?" Kaitlyn asks annoyed at BB on an early Thursday morning while they were working out before BB had to be at Full Sail for the NXT tapings. BB just told Kaitlyn what went down the day before between him and Tye. Needless to say K

"I didn't want to step on anybody's toes. I was just trying to make everybody happy." BB replied picking up the speed on his treadmill.

"Blaine! It is dog eat dog. If you give up your first storyline to please people, they will try to bully you out of any other storylines in the future…if they even give you a storyline again. The main person you should watch out for is yourself, Blaine." Kaitlyn says matching her brother's speed.

"I know that! I was trying to ease the tension between me and Tye. I wanted to make Tye less annoyed at me because I still can't figure out why he has this dislike for me." BB says slowing his treadmill down to cool down after a sprint.

"I don't think it's you that he's angry at. From what I heard around the PC is that Tye is very frustrated with his position. He's an amazing wrestler, but for one reason or another can't seem to get over this hurdle." Kaitlyn says.

"What does that have to do with me?" BB asks confused.

"Beats me. But here's some advice, you will probably not like everybody you will work with; all you can do is be civil, get the job done, and make the best of YOUR career. Don't let Tye's feelings toward you diminish your abilities." Kaitlyn answers as she stops her treadmill and they leave the gym.

"So…how soon do you have to be at Full Sail for the tapings?" Kaitlyn asks putting her gym back in the backseat of the car.

"One…so in about two hours. The doors open at five thirty, so I guess we spend the four hours beforehand going over everything for Showtime." BB answers putting his bag in the backseat before getting in the front seat of the car.

"It's been a long while since I've been at an NXT Taping, but that's pretty much it." Kaitlyn says getting into the car and driving BB back to his place.

* * *

A couple of hours later and BB is walking into Full Sail University ready for his first set of NXT TV Shows. He's as nervous as can be because he has been there such a short time, and if he messes anything up he could easily end up back in training never to be on TV again. On the other hand, he is completely excited because he has been dreaming of being on WWE TV since he was ten years old. Tonight he realizes his dream.

"Are you ready, laddy?" Becky says startling BB out of his thoughts. BB looked over at Becky and gave her a quick smile.

"I'm ready as I ever will be." BB replied as him and Becky walk into Full Sail. As they were heading towards the entrance, there were a few fans that gathered early hopefully to catch their favorite NXT Superstar. Some of them were cheering for Becky and she stopped to take a few pictures with the children. BB smiled as he watched his friend Becky make these little kids' days. BB tried to keep a low profile because he wanted his debut to be a surprise. He heard a few people pointing and whispering his way, but there was nothing BB could do about that.

" _I guess I'll be in the rumor section on social media today."_ BB thought smiling to himself as Becky caught up to him and they started going about their business for tonight. As BB was walking down the hall greeting people and shaking hands, Becky could easily see how tense BB was about tonight.

"You're going to do fine. Don't be so nervous, lady." Becky said patting her friend on the back. BB sighed, looked at Becky, and nodded as they went their separate way to their specific locker rooms. After a few minutes of wandering around lost, BB was able to find the locker room area. Before he entered, he was stopped by a production guy or writer…BB wasn't sure. The guy didn't say anything, but he handed BB a small script. BB wondered how in the world the guy knew to give him this…until he saw his name on the top of it. BB smirked and as he turned, he almost turned directly crashed into Triple H.

"I am so sorry! I didn't see you there!" BB said almost stuttering his words which caused Triple H to laugh.

"Don't worry about it. Are you ready for tonight?" Triple H asks as BB slowly nods.

"I'm ready, but I'm a little nervous." BB answered as Triple H laughs again. At that moment, Tye comes into the building with his bags. Before Tye walks into the locker room, Triple H stops him.

"Glad I caught you, Tye. I was wanting to talk to the two of you together before we start taping. I can see that you two aren't very fond of each other, but I recommend that you two use the dislike for each other and turn it into an amazing performance out there. I believe we put you two together for a reason. Don't prove me wrong. Get ready because the first show starts taping pretty soon. See you guys later." Triple H says quickly before walking away. Tye and BB look at each other before BB lets out a sigh.

"Look…I know you don't like me. I'm not exactly fond of you either, but I'm willing to call a truce with you if it means that we both do a kickass job and advance even further. I'm willing to put business ahead of personal and get the job done…what do you say?" BB asks extending his hand. Tye looks at the hand before looking at BB and silently shakes BB's hand and walking into the locker room. BB rolls his eyes before smirking.

" _At least it's a start."_ BB thinks before walking into the locker room.

The tapings are in full swing as BB is backstage waiting for his segment. BB was trying to get focused and calm himself before he was startled out of his thoughts by Mr. Regal.

"Are you ready, dear boy?" William asks as BB slowly nods.

"I'm ready. I hope I don't do anything stupid." BB replies as William laughs.

"You'll do fine. Remember if you goof up…you meant to do it. Just remember to not look into the camera and you're golden. It's almost time. Get ready and get out of camera view. When you hear my office door close, come out and be ready." William says as he walks into his office. BB does as William says and sneaks into a random hallway.

Tye has just finished wrestling a match with his former tag team partner Jason Jordan—and was defeated by him again. He was heading to Mr. Regal's office as he was requested by the General Manager of NXT. Tye knocks on the door and walks into the office when prompted.

"You needed to see me, Mr. Regal?" Tye asks as William smiles and nods.

"I did, dear boy. I've noticed that you've been getting a little frustrated in your attempt to rack up victories ever since you and Jason broke up your team." William replies.

"A little bit. It sucks knowing that a perfect ten like me has not been able to make his way to the top of NXT. You know as well as I do that I deserve my spot up there. I'm not sure what else I need to do." Tye answers rubbing his hands through his hair. William smiles and pats Tye on the shoulder.

"I get what you mean. I know you have the capabilities of being an NXT Title contender, but you honestly need a little something more to get you to the next level. I have an idea that might help you." William says as the door knocks. "Speak of the devil. Here is the idea I was talking about. Come in."

Seconds later, BB enters the room with a smile on his face as he shakes William's hand.

"Mr. Regal it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person." BB says.

"Wait a second! How is he involved with your idea? Is he delivering the idea or something?" Tye asks.

"Not quite. This young man is the idea. Let me explain. He is associated with one of the up and coming managers in the industry." William explains as Tye smiles.

"Manager huh?" Tye says before looking at BB. "I think it's nice that your dad lets you be his assistant as an after school job." BB rolls his eyes.

"Tye. His dad isn't the manager…he is." William says as BB smiles and extends his hand.

"My name is BB Cross. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tye." BB says as Tye ignores the handshake attempt and turns back to William.

"You're joking, right? I mean there is no way that this little kid could be a wrestling manager on the rise. He looks like a damn high school kid. It's ridiculous." Tye asks getting more frustrated.

"It's not a joke. Young BB here has family in wrestling and has been able to gain experience in managing. I've seen what he can do and he is quite good despite his lack of experience. It wouldn't hurt to at least give him a shot." William suggests. Tye looks down and sighs before finally giving in.

"…fine. I mean how much lower can my NXT career go?" Tye says as BB cheers and pats Tye on the back—whose face has a mix of being creeped out and disgusted.

"Don't worry, Tye. I'm going to work on a bunch of ideas for you and you will NOT be disappointed. Do you have any questions?" BB asks.

"Two actually. One…will you get off of me?" Tye asks as BB slowly gets his hand off Tye's shoulder. "And two. What does BB stand for?"

BB laughs and shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that with my brains and your athleticism—we will get you into the higher league of NXT in no time. See you later." BB says walking out of the room. Tye holds his temples and walks out of the room.

BB heard the cameraman say cut as he watches Tye walk directly past him without any acknowledgement. BB rolls his eyes as he takes in a deep breath and smiles that he survived his first on-camera experience with the WWE.

About an hour and a half later during the taping of the third show, Tye is lacing up his boots as he hears a knock on the locker room door.

"Come in." Tye says focusing on his boots. Seconds later, BB is standing next to him with a bag in his hand.

"Where were you last week? I texted…and emailed…and called you telling you that I had something to show you."

"Oh yeah…sorry about that. I was busy with other obligations." Tye remarked nonchalantly. BB wanted to pop something off, but shook it off and continued.

"It's all good. Now I know you have a match tonight, so I wanted to show you the stuff I had created to begin what I call 'The Renaissance of Tye Dillinger'." BB said excited as Tye tries to peek in the bag. "Not yet! Listen, Tye. Do you remember when we first met two weeks ago? I vaguely remembered you referring to yourself as a 'Perfect Ten'. As I was driving home after our meeting, it hit me! That's your new image. A Perfect Ten."

Tye looks at BB with confusion as BB reaches into the bag and pulls out black and red wrestling trunks with Perfect on the front and the number 10 on the back. BB smiles as he hands the trunks to Tye.

"Wow. You went to a lot of trouble to get the ball rolling on this didn't you?" Tye asks as BB smiles and pats him on the back.

"It was nothing. You see, I've watched some of your past matches on NXT and I've concluded that you are an amazing wrestler with all the skill in the world to become NXT Champion, but you are missing something to get you over the top. With your amazing athleticism and my managerial skills and background in marketing, you will be in title matches in no time." BB said as he pulled out a Perfect Ten shirt out of the bag and handed that to Tye. "So…what do you say? Do you wanna give it a test drive tonight for your match?"

Tye looks at the new gear then looks at BB. "Thanks BB...but no thanks." Tye answers handing the gear back to BB. "I appreciate the effort, but I'm going to try it my way right now. You're still welcome to accompany me to ringside for my match."

BB couldn't help the look of disappointment on his face before quickly recovering and giving Tye a small smile.

"Sure. I'd be glad to. Go ahead and finish getting ready for your match. I'll wait for you." BB replies and Tye nods and leaves the locker room, leaving BB holding Tye's gear and shaking his head.

"The following contest is scheduled for one fall! Already in the ring, Solomon Crowe!" JoJo, the ring announcer says as the crowd cheers. Moments later, Tye's entrance music starts to play as Tye and BB come to the ring to a mixed reaction from the crowd.

"Introducing his opponent. Being accompanied by BB Cross, from Niagara Falls, Canada. Weighing 225 pounds, Tye Dillinger!" JoJo announces as the duo head to the ring. When they reach ringside, Tye stops BB and points to BB and tells him to go sit at the commentary table.

"Why?" BB asks as Tye grabs his arm. BB's eyes go wide at the action towards him.

"I'm still doing this my way. You've accompanied me to the ring. Now get lost." Tye says as he pushes BB towards the ramp. BB doesn't want to argue, so he surrenders and walks back to the commentary table to a chorus of boos—which surprised BB. When he reaches the commentary table, he shakes the hands of Corey Graves and Tom Philips as the bell rings and BB puts on the headgear.

"We've been joined at the broadcast table by BB Cross. BB, it's nice to meet you. Can you explain to the fans watching what exactly brings you to NXT?" Tom asks.

"It's a pleasure to be here. I'm here at NXT because I feel like that there is so much talent on the roster that needs extra help and extra motivation to get them to the next level. For example, Tye Dillinger has hit a few road blocks recently. I believe that Tye needs somebody like me to get him over that hump and get his career back on track." BB replied.

"Are you sure Tye feels the same way? We just saw him pretty much shove you away from the ringside area." Corey asks.

"Probably not right now, but I chalk his attitude up to his major frustrations he's been dealing with. It doesn't seem like it now, but Tye will come around and his career will be back on track." BB answers.

After talking at the table for a few more minutes, the match was reaching its end as Tye misses a neck breaker and Solomon hits Tye with a splash to win the match. BB groans as he takes off the headset and rushes down to the ring to check on Tye. It took Tye a few moments to recognize who was helping him; but as soon as he did, he quickly shoved BB down onto the ring canvas.

"I told you that I didn't need your help. Why can't you understand that?" Tye yells at BB before leaving the ring to another chorus of boos. BB sits in the ring wondering what in the world just happened.

* * *

Moments later, BB was walking backstage when he was stopped by Devin Taylor.

"BB Cross, may we get a comment from you about what went on in the ring after the match between you and Tye Dillinger?"

"The only thing I can say is that maybe Tye is a little more reluctant to change than I thought. But…I was taught by my parents at an early age that you don't quit when things get tough. One way or another, Tye Dillinger will accept the fact that I'm his new manager. It just won't be today." BB said a little discouraged as he walks away from Devin. As he walked away, BB started to smile because he felt so happy and so excited about the future of his storyline—even if Tye was being a party pooper.

Minutes later, BB found Becky watching some matches from the last episode of the tapings with some of the other superstars. BB gave her a quick tap on the shoulder as she turns to BB and smiles.

"How's it going, laddy?" Becky asks.

"I was going to ask you the same thing. Congrats to you Miss Number One Contender for the NXT Women's Title." BB replies.

"Thank you thank you. That title's gonna look pretty good around my waist. Don't ya think?"

"I think the title will find its rightful home come May at Takeover. I'm very happy for you." BB replies.

"Same here. Great work on your debut. Personal opinion here, but I think that the BB Cross character is gonna turn out great for you and for Tye…even if he won't admit it." Becky answers.

"Maybe. Who knows? All I know right now is that I am on top of the world and my debut will be on TV soon…and I'm friends with the next Women's Champion."

"I enjoy the flattery." Becky says as the bell rings for the final match of BB's first NXT Tapings. "Looks like the tapings are done. I say we grab our stuff and head outta here."

"Sounds like a plan." BB answers as they head to their respective locker rooms.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Becky and BB were in the parking lot walking to their car when they were stopped by a father with his son and daughter.

"Becky! My daughter loves you. Could she get a picture with you?" The dad asks. Becky smiles and agrees to take the picture. The smiles and thanks Becky as the son pats the dad's leg to get his attention. After a few seconds, the boy comes up holding a red ball cap.

"Do you remember this?" The little boy asks. BB looks confused for a second. It's a nice cap, but BB can't place the hat.

"I'm trying to, but I really can't remember. Where'd you get it?" BB asks the boy. The boy flips the hat around and shows the autograph on the back of the hat: Leandro Blaze, Sacrifice 2011.

"I got it from you. You were wearing it when you came out for your match. Instead of throwing it out to the crowd, you gave it to me. When I found you after the show, you autographed the hat for me." The kid answered. Seconds later, everything clicked for BB.

"Now that you explain it, I do remember this hat. It means a lot that you kept this after all these years. Especially since I wore this the night I had my first…and only…match. It's very cool." BB replied

"I wanted to tell you that I want to be like you when I grow up." The boy also said. BB almost teared up hearing that as he gave the kid a hug.

"Now that you are here, do you think you will wrestle again?" The boy asked as BB shrugged.

"I would love to wrestle again, but right now I'm trying to work on my relationship with Tye." BB replied with a smile.

"Would you have any issue with my son getting a picture with you before we let you get about your night?" The dad asks. It didn't take BB very long to answer the question.

"Of course. It's the least I could do after your son kept that hat for four years." BB answered as he kneeled next to the kid and smiled as the dad took the picture.

"Thank you so much, Leandro…I mean BB. We might be coming down here more often now that my boy knows that you're here. Take care." The dad says as the kids wave goodbye. After they leave, Becky turns to BB and smiles at the fact that BB's smile is still wide on his face.

"Looks like you already have a little fan. That made your day didn't it, Blaine?" Becky asks laughing. BB smirks and shakes his head.

"As if my day couldn't get any better. That feeling of being a little kid's role model is indescribable. Honestly, I could do backflips right now." BB replies laughing.

"I get what you mean. Now let's head home. This number one contender is tired. Let's go." Becky said as the two grab their bags, get into their car, and head home. As Becky was driving home, BB pulls out his phone and brings up his Twitter.

 _#Dreamsdocometrue._

 _-Leandro Blaze ( BlazeofGlory)_

* * *

 ** _Here is the end of the next chapter. BB made it through his first run of NXT episodes. Aww...he has a little fan rooting him on. It's very sweet. I might be making the relationship between BB and Tye a little harsh...but there is a reason why and it will be explained in the story. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for the next chapter._**


	7. And You Can't Teach That!

**Finally, The Original Blayze has come back with another chapter! Thank you for your patience. A lot of things have happened since my last update and it unfortunately took all my focus. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Now here is another installment of Learning the Ropes.**

* * *

Two days after his first NXT tapings, BB was enjoying his day off by using the opportunity to get a few extra hours of sleep. It didn't happen because his phone starts ringing. BB groans and looks at his clock before looking at the caller ID and answering the phone.

"Katie. I love you, but you have the worst timing. I had the morning off from the PC and was still sleeping." BB said groggily.

"I'm sorry, Blaine. Do you want me to call back?" Kaitlyn asked sympathetically.

"No, it's completely fine. I'm awake now. Is something wrong?" BB asks putting the phone on speaker as he stretches and tries to wake up.

"There's nothing wrong. Did you know you are making the rounds in the online rumor circuit?"

"Umm no. Are they bad rumors?"

"Nope. Spoil sports who ruin the results of the tapings recognized that you were part of the show and were speculating if you were gonna sign a contract with WWE…even though you signed four months ago." Kaitlyn explained. BB rolls his eyes.

"I'm very shocked that my association with NXT is just starting to make the rounds and the fact I was able to stay off the radar this long. It will be confirmed official in a few hours because the website people finally got around to taking the pictures of the new signees yesterday. They said the gallery and news report should be on the website sometime today. I'm kind of excited." BB replied.

"I can imagine. By the way…I heard good things from your appearances. It looks like the crowd is already starting to get behind you."

"I don't know how I did it. I've only been at ringside once. If I remember correctly, they're probably liking me out of sympathy because Tye treated me pretty nasty when I accompanied him to the ring."

"If I were you, I would use that to my advantage. If this relationship with Tye goes for an extended time and he continues to treat you like garbage, your popularity will completely skyrocket." Kaitlyn explains as BB starts to truly think about what his sister is saying. _"Hmm…she might be right. Maybe I can tweak the storyline a little bit to fit this into consideration."_ BB thought for a moment for answering her.

"I might just do that. Thanks for that, Katie." BB replies.

"Not a problem, little brother. I hate to cut this short, but I need to catch a flight and I just wanted to tell you that little tidbit of information before my flight. Talk to you later, Blaine. Love you." Kaitlyn answers.

"Love you too, Katie. Bye." BB says in return as he hangs up the phone. BB smiles in excitement as he grabs some gym clothes to get a quick workout.

* * *

After finishing his workout and showering, BB is lounging on the couch when he gets a text message from Kaitlyn.

" _Thought you might wanna read this!"_ The text says as Kaitlyn also included a link. When BB opened the link, it took him to the WWE Website where the title of the article was titled " _New NXT Recruits Arrive"._ BB gets excited and scrolls down to where they talk about him, wondering what they said about him.

 _Blaine "BB" Bonin:_

 _At 23, Bonin is the youngest of the new recruits at the Performance Center; he already has a few years of experience in the wrestling business. Bonin made his debut at the age of 19 as a manager before making his professional wrestling debut seven months later. After having success as a manager on the independent scene, the younger brother of a former Diva's Champion made the natural jump to WWE to showcase his abilities. Being a star track star and being a state qualifier in gymnastics, the WWE Universe might get lucky and see Bonin make the jump to becoming an in-ring performer. Whatever the path takes him, the young man who went by the moniker Leandro Blaze is no doubt going to "blaze" a path during his time in WWE._

BB smiled and sent Kaitlyn a text thanking her for sending him the article before Becky walks through the door.

"Hey! How was the live event?" BB asks as he scoots over on the couch to let Becky sit down.

"Laddy, it was a blast, as usual! The crowd was excited from the opening match to the main event. It made things so much more fun with everyone so involved." Becky replies leaning back. "Did you enjoy the day off?"

"Yeah I did. Got a good workout in and Katie sent me the article link talking about the new recruits, so I'm pretty happy."

"Have you tried getting Tye to answer your calls since the tapings?"

"Once or twice before I gave up. You know, Becky, I've been thinking about using Tye's hatred towards me to help my career."

"You're not going to try and sabotage Tye are you, laddy?" Becky asks narrowing her eyes at him. BB puts his hands up in defense.

"Of course not! I mean use this negative and turn it into a positive. Regardless of what our personal feeling are towards each other, we must be professional with each other. I'm being professional, but I also want to be successful. Believe me, even though I want to mainly benefit myself, Tye will thank me for what I'm going to attempt to do." BB replied.

"Quick question, Blaine. What makes you so sure he even hates you?" Becky asks.

"I'm not sure, but every time he's around me, he acts like a total dick. At first, I thought it was little bit of hazing towards the new kid. Now it just seems like that he goes out of his way to have an attitude with me."

* * *

A week later, BB was making his way down one of the halls in the Performance Center because there was one guy he really wanted to talk to. He spent the last two days putting the finishing touches on the revamped storyline between him and Tye. He found the office he was looking for and knocked on the door. BB heard the confirmation to come in and walked into the office.

Twenty minutes later, the door opened and BB walks out of the office.

"Thank you so much for the time. I really appreciate it." BB says shaking somebody's hand. The other person, who is revealed to be Triple H, walks out of the office behind BB.

"It's no problem. As I said, we will give it a shot at the next set of tapings and if it gets the right reaction, we'll continue with the storyline. We'll see you around." Triple H says walking away before stopping and turning back to BB. "By the way, Blaine, keep up the good work."

BB couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he walked down the hall towards the ring area.

" _Triple H said I was doing a good job…I don't believe it. Maybe I am cut out to be a WWE Super…OOF!"_ BB thought before he fully realized he crashed into somebody.

"I am SO sorry. I was not paying attention. This is completely my fault. Are you ok?" BB asked the guy he barreled into. The guys started laughing and waved BB off.

"Don't worry about it. I didn't get hurt. I'm Johnny by the way. Johnny Gargano." Johnny says offering a handshake and BB quickly obliges.

"I'm Blaine Bonin…or NXT's BB Cross…still getting used to that, but you can call me BB. It's a huge pleasure to meet you." BB replies smiling. "Are you new here at the PC?"

Johnny looks at BB and laughs again. "Not yet, but hopefully soon I will be. They want me to do a tryout match during the set of the next tapings, so that's pretty sweet. How about you? Have you been here very long?"

"Not really. Been signed to NXT for about four months so this is all still completely mind-blowing." BB replied.

"I bet. I heard the live events are crazy because the fan interaction is phenomenal."

"Honestly, I've only been to one live event. It was crazy, but I haven't been to another one since I've started. Right now, I'm just a manager trying to get his feet wet in NXT." BB admitted.

"Nothing wrong with that. You're young, so anything can happen. Don't worry about it. Anyways, I've gotta go. It was a pleasure meeting you, BB." Johnny remarks before walking away. BB takes a second to think about what Johnny said before realizing he was late for class and started jogging down the hall.

"Alright, who is ready to cut a promo?" The promo coach says, catching a few people off guard. "I knew that this was a little unexpected, but yeah. Welcome to the business that is pro wrestling. Anything can change in any given moment. So…who's going to go first today?"

The coach starts looking around the room trying to find the first victim. "Hmm. Let me see. How about…little BB Cross." The coach says as BB looks up with a startled look on his face. "Consider that your reward for being late to promo class. Take a few minutes to get geared up. Then get up here and show us what you got." BB slowly gets out of his chair and walks to the front of the class.

"Are you ready?" The coach asks. BB nods that he is ready. "Alright. The stage is yours. Show us what you got." BB takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Out of all the things that go into pro wrestling, promos make him the most nervous—especially when he had to come up with one on the spot. He opens his eyes and catches Tye with a look on his face as if to say, 'this has GOT to be good'. BB gets mad and decides to let it go.

"Since I'm from the South, I've always been raised to be a gentleman. To be respectful, considerate, and work my hardest. Yet, there are some people here who don't believe in the same values. Since I've started at NXT, there are people who have ridiculed me, disrespected me, and deemed me unworthy to enter an NXT ring that has included people like Finn Balor and Sami Zayn. It's nothing new…I've dealt with people like that my entire life." BB stops for a moment and looks around the room seeing if there was any reaction before he continues. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I might not be the fastest, the strongest, or even have a PERFECT TEN physique; I am sure as hell one of the hardest workers in NXT today. No matter where my career takes me, I will make a name for myself…I do declare!" BB smiles and takes a bow before taking his seat in between Chad and Becky.

"I wonder if that promo was DIRECTED at anybody in particular." Becky whispers to BB as he starts to smile.

"Maybe a little bit." BB replied as Becky gave him a look. "What? He said go up there and cut a promo and I did. Is it my fault that the guy I'm supposed to be managing is really starting to piss me off and this is a way for me to alleviate a little anger?"

"It could've been done a little better, but true emotion does lead to better promos. Hopefully it doesn't come back to haunt you." Becky says. BB nods his head and sits back to watch the rest of the promos.

* * *

The next day during the tapings, BB was sitting in the locker room talking on the phone.

 _"Let the storyline begin!"_ BB thought as he was talking on the phone.

"Do you think it would be possible? That would be awesome. I think this is the type of exposure that Tye needs to advance his career, but wh…." BB says before he hears a knock on the locker room door. "Hey! I'll get back to you, ok? Great! Bye….Come in!"

Seconds later, Bayley comes through the door. BB smiles and gives Bayley a hug.

"Hey! How are you, Bayley?"

"Pretty good. Better question, how are you doing?" Becky asks in reply.

"I'm doing ok…why do you ask?" BB asks in a questioning tone. Bayley shakes her head. "BAYLEY!"

"I was going to come in here and ask you something, but now I'm realizing that it's not my place…sorry to bother you." Bayley tries to leave, but BB catches her arm.

"Bayley, we're friends right?" BB asks and she nods.

"And friends have a right to be concerned about each other, right?" Bayley nods again.

"So, go ahead and ask me your question. You won't offend me in the slightest. Besides you have much more important things do deal with than little BB Cross. Like that Number One Contender's match later tonight for the Women's Championship at Takeover against Sasha." BB replies patting Bayley on the shoulder. Bayley takes a deep breath and asks her question.

"BB, it's about this 'relationship' between you and Tye Dillinger." BB looks at Bayley confused.

"What about it?"

"Well…some people on the roster have been well…worried about the way Tye's been treating you." Bayley admits.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" BB asks with a small stutter in his voice.

"Come on BB! Stop playing dumb. Everyone saw a few weeks ago that Dillinger pretty much treated you like garbage. Even though you're his manager, he didn't want you at ringside; when he lost the match, he yelled at you for not being at ringside and that was before he ASSAULTED you. NOBODY deserves to be treated like that, BB. You know better than that." Bayley explained almost yelling at BB. BB unknowingly took a defensive step back and Bayley gave him a look.

"Bayley. I really appreciate you asking me directly about this, but there isn't anything to worry about. Tye was just frustrated with himself about the match and I was inadvertently in the line of fire. Not a big deal." BB replied smiling at Bayley.

"But what about last week when he wrestled his match and told you to stay in the back and stay out of his way?"

"I told I was fine with that. I was working on some marketing ideas, so the extra time really helped." BB said. Seconds later, Tye walks into the locker room.

"Something we should know about between you two?" Tye asks with a smirk on his face. Bayley rolls her eyes and BB chuckles.

"Just two friends talking. Are you ready for your match next week? You get a rematch with Big Cass." BB asks.

"Of course. I plan on winning this time. It's a good thing I found you because I would really like to have you at ringside for my match." Tye says as BB's smile grows.

"Really? I mean I would be happy to. I am your manager after all." BB replies.

"Good. Because I know you have been working very hard on remarketing Tye Dillinger, but I have this great idea that I think the NXT Universe can get behind." Tye says almost excitedly.

"Umm…that's great. I'm happy to hear that. What's your idea?" BB asks as Tye goes to his locker and pulls out a set of trunks…with the number ten on the back and the word PERFECT on the front.

"I've been hearing the NXT Universe and reading on social media that they think I'm one of the best looking men on NXT—not that I disagree. So I thought 'Why not go with it?'…I can emphasize that and become what I truly believe I am—a PERFECT TEN! What do you think about it?" Tye asks as BB is working hard to keep a smile on his face, realizing that something about that pitch sounded very familiar.

"I…I think that's a great idea. Next week will be the unveiling of the new Tye Dillinger…the PERFECT Ten, Tye Dillinger." BB replies.

"Perfect! Since I have the week off, I'm gonna hit the gym and get myself ready for next week." Tye says tossing the trunks to BB as he grabs and gym bag and leave the locker room. BB looks at the trunks and frowns as Bayley walks over to the white bag next to BB's gym bag and pulls out the Perfect Ten trunks that BB had made for Tye before walking back to BB.

"I wonder where Tye got the idea to become a Perfect Ten." Bayley asks as BB looks down at the floor. Bayley feels bad for BB and pats him on the shoulder.

"I mean at least he's on board with the idea regardless of who suggested it, right? I've got to go. Good luck tonight, Bayley." BB says grabbing his bags and walking out of the locker room. Bayley frowns sadly as she watches BB leave the locker room.

* * *

Later in the night for the next episode, Big Cass is waiting in the ring with Enzo Amore at ringside as Cass waits for his opponent. Seconds later, a loud "TEN" comes through the speakers as Tye Dillinger makes his way to the ring with BB following close behind.

"Introducing his opponent! Accompanied to the ring by BB Cross. From Niagara Falls, Canada, weighing in at 225 pounds. He is the Perfect Ten, Tye Dillinger." The ring announcer says as the crowd gives a mixed reaction—boos for Tye and cheers for BB. BB smiles and waves to the crowd. Tye gets annoyed and pulls BB by the arm in front of him.

"I don't understand this relationship between Tye Dillinger and BB Cross. I know that General Manager William Regal brought in BB Cross to assist in pulling Tye Dillinger out of a slump. As you can see, Dillinger wants nothing to do with him." Tom Philips says on commentary.

"Are you blind? The little brat is just trying to ride the coattails of the Perfect Ten. BB Cross wants to make a name for himself at the expense of Tye Dillinger. It's completely obvious." Corey Graves replies.

"Coattails? It was BB Cross who came up with the Perfect Ten persona for Tye. Last week, Tye comes in acting like he came up with the whole plan himself. I honestly think that BB Cross deserves better." Tom says.

"Better? It doesn't get any better than a Perfect Ten. He should consider himself grateful that Dillinger hasn't kicked him to the curb." Graves remarks. BB holds the ropes for Tye and enters the ring after Tye enters the ring. BB tries his best to get the crowd behind Tye, but they just booed him even more. After a few seconds, BB motions to the ringside attendant for a microphone. After grabbing the microphone, BB gives Tye a look as if to say _"Do I really have to do this?"_ Tye glares at him and BB realizes that he doesn't have much of a choice.

"NXT Universe! You are in the presence of a rarity here in NXT…a PERFECT TEN. Wait! Not just A perfect ten. He is THE PERFECT TEN, TYE DILLINGER." BB stops for a moment to let Tye showboat as the crowd boos even more. "Women want to be with him! Men want to BE him! Young children idolize him like a superhero." BB stops once again as the crowd starts chanting "SAWFT" to Tye and BB. BB is trying his hardest not to vomit because as much as he hates to admit it, this shtick is working.

"You guys are only booing because you know what I'm saying is the truth. The NXT Universe should NOT be booing us. You all should be taking pictures of this momentous occasion because this is the closest that ANY OF YOU will ever get to perfection in your lives." BB finishes as he hands the mic back to ringside and exits the ring.

"BB Cross is either one of three things: brainwashed, delusional, or just plain stupid." Tom says as the bell rings for the match to begin.

"I think Cross is smarter than I gave him credit for." Graves answers. "He realizes how big of a hit Tye Dillinger is going to become a big hit here in NXT. He's got experience as a manager and that'll help push Dillinger to the top…and he's still riding the coattails."

BB stood ringside watching Tye and Cass lock up. Being the bigger man, Cass quickly shoves Tye away. Tye quickly gets frustrated and tries to go for a cheap shot on Cass. Cass counters and starts clobbering Tye before throwing him out of the ring. BB jogs over to Tye and helps him up before trying to give him a little advice.

"You have gotta focus, Tye! You're playing right into his plan." BB says as he helps Tye up. Tye looks at BB annoyed and pulls his arm away from BB.

"Shut your mouth." Tye screams at BB before shoving him…and sending him back first into the steel steps. BB lets out a small groan of pain as Tye slides back into the ring. The crowd lets Tye hear what they thought of that stunt. Even Cass motions over to BB and asks Tye why the hell he did that to his own manager. Tye doesn't care and starts pounding on Cass.

As Tye stayed in control for most of the match, BB was finally back on his feet and leaning against the ring apron because his back still smarted a little bit from the ring steps. Seconds later, Tye catches Cass throat first against the ropes closest to BB. Cass lands with a thud as he holds onto his neck. Tye hooks Cass's leg for a pin and puts his feet on the ropes as the ref counts 1...2…and before the ref counts three Enzo runs to break the pin, but before he makes it, BB shoves Tye's feet off the ropes. Tye's eyes are as wide as saucers as he glares at BB.

"What the hell are you doing? I had the match won!" Tye screams at BB. BB decides to get onto the ring apron and get in Tye's face.

"That's cheating! You don't wanna win that way. What will that prove?" BB yells in Tye's face.

"Are you stupid? A win is a win! Any means necessary. Don't you get that?" Tye yells in return.

"Am I stupid? Cheating accomplishes no…." BB tries to say before Cass comes running across the ring. Cass attempts to hit Tye with his big boot…but Tye moved at the last second so BB stared wide eyed as Cass's boot crashes right into BB's face—especially the mouth and nose. BB goes tumbling off the apron and holding his face as Cass sees what he just did. Tye takes advantage and rolls up Cass and pulls the tights as the ref counts three.

The bell rings and the ring announcer makes the announcement.

"Here is your winner, the Perfect Ten, Tye Dillinger."

The ref raises Tye's arm before Tye leaves the ring celebrating. BB was still holding his face as Tye walks up the ramp too busy celebrating his victory and completely ignoring BB.

"What a big man Dillinger is. BB takes the bullet and Tye doesn't even bother to help him." Tom Philips remarks after going over the replay of the match.

"This isn't ballet, Philips. Cross shouldn't have been up on the apron in the first place. He knew the risks he was taking when he jumped on the apron during a match." Graves replies.

"Are you ok?" The referee asks BB seeing if he was alright after the boot to the face.

"Do you think you can stand up?"

BB answers that he thinks he can try before getting up. BB gets to his feet before stumbling towards the apron a little disoriented.

" _Shit. That boot knocked me loopier that I thought. Hopefully it's not a concussion."_ BB thought as Cass comes up and wraps his arm across BB's back and helps him off the apron.

"We'll help you to the back." Cass says as BB nods and they walk to the back. The crowd cheers that BB is alright and not seriously injured. As they walk up the ramp, the referee catches up and gives BB a small towel. BB looks at the ref confused.

"Your nose is bleeding." The ref explains as BB gives a silent thank you and uses his free hand to try to stop the blood.

* * *

After BB makes it from behind the curtain, BB is laying in the Trainer's room after he got finished getting checked out. As he stares at the ceiling playing with the elastic band that was in his hair, Becky comes into the room and sits next to BB.

"How're you feeling, Laddy?" Becky asks as BB turns over and offers a small smile.

"The trainer checked me out and determined I didn't have a concussion, so I'm happy. I just ended up with a bloody nose and my senses knocked loopy." BB replied with a breath of relief. "Honestly I'm more embarrassed than anything else."

"Embarrassed? About what?"

"I mean it's the first time I'm on NXT TV actually getting physically involved in a match and I have to be helped to the back. I don't want the upper management to think I'm a liability or anything."

"Blainey-boy, you're overthinking everything. Accidents happen to everybody. It's nothing to worry about. Just consider this a learning experience and do better next time."

"Thanks, Becky. I appreciate that." BB replies as the trainer comes in and tells BB he is free to go.

After cleaning up, BB is walking down the hall as Devin Taylor catches up to BB.

"BB Cross, do you have a moment?" Devin asks as BB smiles and nods. "How are you feeling after that boot from Big Cass?"

"Thank you for your concern, Devin. I just got finished getting checked out by the trainer and he said that there was no major damage done. I just got knocked a little senseless and will probably have a nice bruise on my face, but that's all part of the job, right?"

"Last question. Do you have any comment about Tye Dillinger leaving you in pain ringside as he celebrated his victory?"

"I wish I could give you a clear answer, but…." BB tries to answer but a fight breaks out before he could finish. BB and Devin run over to see who's fighting and they see that it's Cass and Tye with Enzo following close behind trying to break it up.

"Tye, stop this. Cass, stop!" BB says trying to help Enzo separate the two. After a moment, the two men calm down and glare at each other. "Why are you guys fighting anyway? Didn't you two already have a match.

"All I was doing was minding my own business and this big zero attacks me for no reason." Tye answers.

"BULL! I was just asking how big of a man he felt as he left his friend laying in pain after a match. Someone who was trying to help him. Guess it proves that the stud is a dud." Cass replies as the two try to start fighting again. The two smaller guys do their best to break them up again.

"STOP IT!" BB yells loudly and that gets the two men to stop fighting. "This isn't worth it. Cass, this was my own fault."

"BB, why are you blaming yourself? This wasn't y…." Cass asks before BB cuts him off.

"It is. It's my fault because I was too stupid to think that me and Tye would develop a mutual respect. I guess I was wrong." BB says as Tye looks at him with wide eyes.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Tye asks.

"I mean I get it, Tye. You don't like me, and you never will. I guess I'm the stupid one who was hoping we would become friends. Your match just proved it. You don't give a damn about me. Thanks for your help, Cass. I appreciate it." BB says smiling at Cass before looking sad at Tye before walking away.

"I hope you're proud of yourself, Perfect Ten." Enzo remarks sarcastically before him and Cass walk away, leaving Tye trying to take everything in that just happened.

Yards away, BB was leaning against the wall collecting his thoughts.

 _"Wow...it feels more real than it should. Can't lose confidence now or it's only gonna get harder."_

* * *

 **BB gets a chance to get physical and he certainly got more than he bargained for in the form of a big boot from Big Cass. It also looks like this relationship between Tye and BB has just hit an interesting turn. BB realizes that Tye doesn't like him and he has had enough. What will this mean for the future of Dillinger and Cross? What exactly does this storyline that BB pitched include? How much real life is included? Find out on the next chapter of Learning the Ropes.**


	8. Real or Storyline?

**What? Another update from me within two weeks? Am I sick? That's besides the point :). Without further ado, here we go with the next chapter!**

* * *

It was a month after the blowup between BB and Tye. Neither man have spoken to each other since that moment…on or off camera. BB thought it was peaceful, but quickly realized that something needs to happen or his run on NXT will be a short one.

"I'm trying to be professional, but damn it, that guy knows how to piss me off in the worst way." BB said sitting on the ring apron next to Chad Gable. BB loved being able to train with Chad. Not only was Chad about the closest in size to BB, he was one of the most technical men on the roster. It was amazing what BB could learn from him.

"Welcome to adulating, kiddo." Chad said with a smirk. BB rolled his eyes at the comment. He knew he was the youngest guy on the roster…it doesn't mean he liked to be reminded of it. "What I mean is that sometimes you have to work with people you don't like. It's hard, but almost unavoidable. Hopefully you two can at least develop a civil working relationship."

"Yeah. Me too. Especially since the next TV show is coming up pretty soon." BB says stepping into the ring and Chad following suit. "The last thing I wanna do is be sitting on the sidelines and throw my storyline down the toilet."

"I don't blame you. You got yourself decently over pretty quickly. The last thing you want to do is lose steam and fall flat later on. So what are you going to do?" Chad asks stretching along the ring ropes.

"What else can I do? I'm gonna be the bigger person and try to work with him. My mom always said you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." BB replied getting into the opposite corner of Chad before working on locking up.

After working in the ring, BB and Chad are sitting in the middle of the ring stretching and loosening their muscles.

"So how do you think I am doing?" BB asks Chad.

"You're certainly showing signs of improvement, but I still think you have a long way to go before you are ready for a match." Chad replied. "You seemed really nervous going through some of the motions."

"Honestly, I am still nervous. I mean I have never been more than a manager. On the rare occasion when I did matches, I was never more than the punching bag with the one or two lucky moves. So, this is still all new to me."

"Do you actually want to have a match here?" Chad asks.

"That has always been my dream to wrestle a match in WWE. Right now, I'm just excited to be here in any capacity."

"I can tell you're grateful about being in NXT. You can be honest with me, BB. How badly do you wanna wrestle?"

"More than anything. Besides having a successful WWE career, my goal is to wrestle a match at WrestleMania."

"It'll happen. Don't worry about it. In a lot of cases many managers have went on to wrestle at least one match. Jim Cornette, Bobby Heenan, Sherri Martel. Do I need to go on?" Chad asks as BB starts laughing.

"Alright. I get it. Thanks for the cheering up, Chad. It'll happen someday. But right now, you have a tag team to get over. I'm gonna shower and get ready for the tapings. I'll see you later, Chad." BB says rolling out of the ring and to the locker room.

* * *

Tye is seen walking down the hall before being stopped by Aiden English.

"Hey, Tye. What's the deal with you and your new manager?" Aiden asks.

"What about him? I personally think he's a little snot, but management sees something between us that is successful. I don't get it." Tye replies.

"What do you know about him?" Aiden asks and Tye shrugs. "One more question. Did you hear of anybody on the Indies referred to as the Pyro Prince?"

"Vaguely. I heard that the Prince was a very young up and coming manager. It'd be cool to have him backing me up in NXT."

"Well…it looks like you got your wish because he's your manager right now." Aiden explains as Tye laughs. "I'm not joking. Little BB Cross is the Pyro Prince. I would take full advantage of this if you ask me."

"Oh, what do you know?" Tye asks.

"He has an almost flawless track record. I mean every person he managed on a long-term basis went on to win a championship."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that with him in your corner, the NXT title could be in your future." Aiden explains to Tye. "Come on…let me explain this to you further." Aiden says walking with Tye to the locker room. After they walk away to the locker room, Becky comes from behind one of the production crates and shakes her head in disbelief.

" _I have to find the laddie before he gets his heart crushed."_ Becky thought as she walks to the women's locker room.

BB was walking down the hall, looking for the one person he really didn't want to talk to; he knew that it had to be done. Seconds later, BB finds the person he was looking for standing by the catering table. BB takes a deep breath and walks over to him.

"Tye." BB said tapping Tye on the shoulder to get his attention. Tye turns around and crosses his arms and giving him an ugly glare.

"Look, I know you and me haven't really gotten along since we've been paired together. I was hurt, but now that I've had time to think about things, I wanted to say that I completely understand where you're coming from." BB explains.

Tye's look softens and he raises an eyebrow wondering how this little snot is going to explain himself.

"You're a solo act. You wanna make it to the top on your own and just the thought of having a manager is weird and a little annoying to you. Honestly, all I have been doing is trying my best to try to impress you. Anyways, I wasn't going to come here and apologize because I knew you probably wouldn't accept it. So, I decided to do something that would hopefully be a peace offering."

"What exactly did you do?" Tye asks, his eyes narrowing down towards BB.

"I promise it's nothing bad! Do you remember last week when they announced the eight-man tournament to face Kevin Owens in Japan?" BB asks and Tye nods. "Well guess who just became the eighth man in the tournament. That's right! You! How's does that sound? You're only three matches away from becoming number one contender for the NXT Title." BB admitted excitedly.

As much as Tye didn't like the kid, he would admit that he was impressed with the brat's ability to push him into a tournament set like this. After hearing this news, it's making Tye's decision to completely use and ditch BB a little bit harder; it isn't enough to have Tye change his mind. Real life or storyline, Tye was a solo act and nothing would change that.

"I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything now. You can thank me when you win the tournament at Takeover. I better get going. You get ready because your first-round match is later tonight. See you later!" BB says with a smile on his face as he walks away. Tye watches BB walk down the hall and develops a smirk on his face—knowing that this young kid was going to get a tough lesson taught to him.

* * *

"Introducing his opponent. Accompanied to the ring by BB Cross. From Niagara Falls, Canada weighing 225 pounds. He is the Perfect Ten. Tye Dillinger." The ring announcer, JoJo, said as BB and Tye made their way to the ring. There was the usual mixed reaction for the duo—boos for Tye and cheers for BB. Even though BB was used to the crowd reaction, BB felt there was something off about tonight.

" _This is VERY weird. Tye is being halfway decent towards me. Usually by the time we reach ringside, he's shoved me at least twice or has yelled at me. Maybe he's finally realizing how much of an asset I truly am."_ BB thought as he opened the ropes for Tye to enter the ring.

After taking his place at ringside, BB saw a new intensity in Tye's eyes as he glared at his opponent—Adrian Neville. It was once again weird because that type of glare was usually directed at BB. That type of intensity didn't go unnoticed by the commentators.

"Do you see the look in the eyes of Dillinger? He is all types of fired up tonight." Tom Philips asks.

"Of course. How many times do you get an opportunity at becoming number one contender for the NXT Title? Ever since he's developed his Perfect Ten mentality, he has been on a successful run." Corey Graves answers.

"Could you contribute some of that success to that young man at ringside?" Tom replied.

"Maybe a little. Don't push it, Philips. Just because BB Cross managed to do something right for once for the Perfect Ten doesn't mean he has contributed to Dillinger's success. Tye is doing all the wrestling. Cross is just standing there doing nothing." Graves replied as BB steps off the apron and stands ringside as the bell rings.

" _Even though Tye can be a prick, he is very technical in the ring. He better be careful because Neville is an amazing high-flier. If he isn't, he'll be out of the tournament pretty damn quick."_ BB thought as the match began.

Throughout the match, Tye had control of Neville with his size advantage. Towards the end of the match, the match started turning towards the favor of Neville. Neville started making a comeback and mounting an offense against Tye. After getting knocked out the ring by a Neville kick, BB runs over to Tye and tries to help him up. As BB helps Tye back into the ring, Neville starts climbing to the top rope. Seconds later, Tye grabs onto BB's ponytail and drags BB back onto the ring apron.

"What in the world is Dillinger doing? He's grabbing onto the ponytail of BB Cross and dragging him onto the ring apron." Phillips asked.

"It's not normal of me to doubt the strategy of a Perfect Ten, but his opponent is Neville, not Cross. This could cost him." Graves replies.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" BB yells at Tye as he keeps pulling him up to the ring apron by the ponytail. As this was going on, Neville is standing on the top turnbuckle wondering what the hell is going on. After BB makes it to his feet on the apron, Tye still has a grip on BB's ponytail. After a few seconds of wondering what Tye was doing, Tye forcefully yanks BB by the ponytail and causing BB to hit the ropes. The movement of the ropes causes Neville to lose his balance and fall off the top turnbuckle.

BB is holding his head in pain as Tye takes advantage of Neville falling off the top turnbuckle and hits Neville with his Tye-Breaker finisher and covers him for the three count and to advance into the Semi-Finals.

"Here is your winner, Tye Dillinger." The ring announcer declares as the crowd boos and BB enters the ring.

"Dillinger advances in the tournament, but BB Cross does not look happy about Dillinger advancing. Since it was the ponytail of BB Cross that led to Dillinger's victory." Phillips says.

"It's Cross' own fault. If he didn't want his hair to be used as a weapon, he shouldn't have long hair. The brat should be happy that Dillinger advanced." Graves replies.

BB tries to ask Tye why the hell he did that. BB wanted Tye to win, but not this way. Tye was too engulfed in his celebration to notice the question so BB just did all he could and raise Tye's hand in victory. As they exited the ring and the replay was showing, BB tried to talk to Tye again; Tye was boasting to the crowd as they booed. BB stood next to Tye and raised his hand with a smirk on his face. Even though BB doesn't really like it, he's learned that sometimes you must absorb the boos—whether they are directed towards him or not.

* * *

Moments later, production asked him to the locker area to film a segment. BB knocked on the door to the locker room that Tye was located.

"Come in!" Tye yells as BB walks into the locker room.

"Great match out there tonight. You're one step closer to becoming number one contender."

"Thanks."

"I think the ending of the match could have went a little bit differently."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean when you yanked me by my hair to help knock Neville off the ropes. I wanted you to win, but what happened to a fair victory? I feel horrible."

Tye finishes untying his boots and sighs. "Look, BB. Some habits are hard to break. I'm so used to using any trick I could to win. I know it wasn't the best thing to do."

"I guess we are finding some common ground, now. This is great towards building our friendship. You know…let's forget about what happened and look towards next week. You have Sami Zayn in the semifinals. Stick to your strong points and you will be going to Takeover." BB says patting Tye on the shoulder. "I've gotta go get a few things done. I'll see you later."

BB extends his hand for a handshake. Tye looks at BB's hand for a moment before reciprocating the handshake. As BB leaves the locker room and shuts the door, Tye gets this evil grin on his face and rolls his eyes.

"Little snot doesn't have a clue."

BB was sitting in catering getting something to eat. It is a horrible habit, but BB always got nervous before he did any on-camera or stuff in front of the crowd. Now that he's done for a little bit, BB was more than happy to get some food. Seconds later, Becky joins BB at the table he was eating at with food of her own.

"Let me tell you, laddy. Nothing says good work like chicken from catering. What do you think?" Becky asks as BB laughs.

"It's pretty good. I've certainly had worse. Quick question, Becky. How do you think I'm doing out there?"

"Laddy, you're thinking too much about it. You're playing a character out there and you want the crowd to either love you or hate you. You're not doing that badly getting people to like you. Honestly, you just need to let loose a little bit to fully embrace your character. Don't take thing so seriously." Becky says patting BB on the back.

"Thanks, Becky. I really appreciate the advice. Believe me, I'm trying my hardest; it's hard for me to let loose when I have this horrible suspicion that I'm about to be thrown under a bus." BB replies.

"I think you are overreacting just a little bit. Just do your best and don't have any regrets, laddy." Becky says, trying to reassure BB. BB doesn't get a chance to answer as one of the production people pull BB away for a segment. Becky smirks as she throws away her trash and walks back to her locker room. On the way there, she overhears a couple of people talking. When she hears what the conversation's about, she pulls out her phone and starts recording.

* * *

As Becky is recording, BB is sitting down on a production crate as Sami Zayn walks up to him. BB catches him and tries to get off the crate to walk away.

"BB, wait a second. We need to talk." Sami says. BB shakes his head.

"Sami, we don't have anything to talk about. You need to get out of here. What if Tye catches me talking to you? He'll think I'm trying to screw him out of the tournament."

"That's exactly what we need to talk about. BB, how could you be so blind as to what is going on right in front of your face?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about this business relationship—and I use that term very loosely—between you and Tye. BB, I know you idolize him, but…he is using you. Playing you like a fiddle." Sami says but BB shakes his head in disbelief.

"Come on, Sami! That's ridiculous. I mean I know that me and Tye had a rock start, but we're on the same page now."

"That's what he wants you to think. BB, you're walking right into his trap. As soon as he gets what he wants, you're gone. There's only one way to stop that."

"How's that?"

"Ditch Dillinger and accompany me next week. He won't get the title shot, you won't get dumped, and I'll get my NXT Title back. We all win." Sami suggests as BB looks at him as he contemplates the idea…before letting Sami have it.

"I don't believe you. I thought you were one of the nicest people in NXT, but I guess I was completely wrong."

"Whoa. What do you mean?" Sami asks taken aback by BB's statement.

"How could you come up to the manager of your opponent next week and try to fill my head will all this crap about Tye. Why do all you people feel the need to butt into my business?" BB asks getting madder by the second.

"You know what, Sami? Thanks, but no thanks. I'm gonna stick with Tye and lead him to the NXT Title in Japan. This little stunt you pulled put the nail in your coffin. Kiss your chances, goodbye." BB says pushing Sami out of the way and storming away.

Sami looks on wondering what just happened as Becky walks up, catching the end of BB's tirade.

* * *

"The following contest is a semifinal match in the NXT Number One Contender's Tournament scheduled for one fall." Jojo announces as Sami Zayn's music hits.

"Introducing first from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Weighing in at 212 pounds…Sami Zayn." Sami heads to the rings with the cheers from the crowd.

"Sami Zayn has his work cut out for him. Not only is he facing the dark horse in the tournament, Tye Dillinger, he's going to have to deal with a furious BB Cross." Tom Phillips says.

"I've never thought I would stick up for BB Cross, but Sami should have just kept his nose out of Cross' business and let whatever happen happen." Corey Graves replies. As soon as he finishes, Sami's music cuts and Tye's theme starts to play as Tye and BB head to the ring with another mixed reaction from the crowd.

"Introducing his opponent. Being accompanied to the ring by BB Cross. From Niagara Falls, Canada weighing 225 pounds…he is the 'Perfect Ten', Tye Dillinger!" JoJo announces.

"This is an amazing opportunity for the Perfect Ten to prove to the NXT Universe that he belongs in an NXT Championship match. He is one match away from making it to Takeover to face Finn Balor for chance to face the NXT Champion in Japan." Tom says as the camera gets a close-up of BB's face. "Look at the face of BB Cross. He's usually all smiles, but after the incident last week with Sami Zayn, he is glaring daggers at Zayn."

"That could be the difference maker, Phillips. Usually BB Cross wants to play it safe and follow the rules, but with the anger that's flowing through BB, he could use any means necessary to cost Zayn his shot." Corey replies.

The bell rings and the semifinal match begins, and it starts as even match. Both men at the beginning of the match traded the advantage between each other. At one point in the match, Sami was draped across the bottom rope and Tye had the referee distracted. BB walked over to where Sami was and considered slapping Sami for making those accusations. As much as he wanted to, there was something inside BB that didn't let him do it.

Seconds later, Tye came back and started back attacking Sami. BB couldn't take his eyes off the match. If he wasn't so pissed off, he would think that this was an amazing match. These two were amazing competitors.

Towards the end of the match, Sami and Tye were fighting on the apron. Sami clotheslined Tye back into the ring and then BB and Sami locked eyes. BB's eyes went from a look of anger to a look of doubt. Sami shook his head and went back to the match. As Sami jumped through the ropes and attempted a DDT, Tye was able to counter the DDT into his Tye Breaker finisher to win the match and advance to Takeover.

"Here is your winner…Tye Dillinger." JoJo announces as the crowd covers Tye in boos. BB comes into the ring and raises Tye's hand.

"Looks like the finals are set for NXT Takeover. It'll be Finn Balor taking on Tye Dillinger. I'll be honest, I didn't expect Tye Dillinger to make it to the finals." Tom says.

"He proved you and all his haters wrong so far. At Takeover, he's going to show everybody why he is the Perfect Ten." Graves replies as BB and Tye head up the ramp.

* * *

Later, BB was talking with someone backstage as he is approached by Becky.

"How's it going, Becky?" BB asks with a smile on his face.

"Blaine, I have something you need to hear." Becky said with a very serious look on her face. BB realized this must be serious because Becky never called him by his name. When BB and Becky reached a secluded area backstage, Becky pulled out her phone. BB is still confused what is going on.

"Becky, what are you doing?" BB asks as Becky turn on her phone to what she wanted to play to BB.

"You're not gonna like this, but as your friend, you have the right to hear this." Becky says as she starts the file on her phone.

" _I have a feeling that this is going to end in a disaster…."_ BB thought as the file started playing.

Minutes later, Tye is talking on the phone with somebody outside the locker room as he films his last segment of the day.

"Make sure you watch me in two weeks at Takeover as I become number one contender." Tye says as the person replies. "I have no doubt in my mind that I'll become NXT Champion. Especially with the little insurance policy that I have."

Tye rolls his eyes and laughs at what the person on the phone said.

"Of course I'm talking about him. He'll do anything I ask as long as I keep up this little polite routine. The little brat is so gullible. As soon as I win the title, I'm dropping him like a bad habit and he has no clue it's going to happen."

Seconds later, BB walks up to Tye with purpose in his eyes.

"We need to talk." BB says as Tye puts a finger up asking for a minute.

Becoming more enraged by the second, BB snatches Tye's phone out of his hand. "I'm sorry, Tye's going to have to call you back. Something more important came up. Bye!" BB says quickly ending the call.

"What the hell is your problem?" Tye asks, glaring at BB. "I was in the middle of a very important call."

"My problem? How dare you! Do you think that I'm some type of idiot?" BB asks getting in Tye's face.

"What are you talking about?" Tye asks trying to stay innocent.

"Don't play dumb! The cat's out of the bag!" BB starts to yell as Tye stays silent. "Do I need to dumb it down for you? I KNOW EVERYTHING!"

BB takes a deep breath trying to calm his nerves, but all it does is make him even madder.

"You played me like a fiddle! You were going to just string me along until you got the NXT. Then you were gonna drop me like a bad habit. I guess there's no need for friends when you're at the top, huh?"

"BB, you don't understand."

"I understand perfectly clear. I feel so stupid. People tried to tell me. People DID tell me, but I didn't want to believe it. You know what? YOU KNOW WHAT?" BB asked screaming. Seconds later, a few tears started falling.

" _Damnit! I was trying so hard! There was so much more I wanted to say, too."_ BB thought as he tried to keep his emotions in control. He knew he was supposed to say more, but he did the only thing he could think of doing.

BB reached his hand back and slapped Tye across the face as hard as he could. BB stormed off as he left Tye holding his cheek wondering what was going on.

After BB stormed away, Becky caught up to him.

"You weren't supposed to slap him were you?" Becky asked as BB shook his head no.

"Laddie, was that slap storyline or was it for yourself?" Becky asked already knowing the answer. BB sighed as he answered the question.

"A little bit of both. More for myself than storyline." BB replied. Becky shook her head and gave BB a pat on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry it went down like that, but on the bright side, I didn't know you could cry on cue, laddie." Becky says BB shakes his head.

"Thanks…but I can't take credit for that. I can't cry on cue." BB admitted with a small smile. "I'm just hoping I didn't ruin my career."

BB walks into the men's locker room to get packed up as Becky looks on and wonders.

* * *

 **Here it is! If there were any gaps or goofy spots, I do apologize. Sometimes after a break in writing, things tend to slip your mind or you forget. Hopefully it didn't happen too many times.**

 **From the looks of things, it looks like the relationship between Tye and BB is done. Before anybody asks, BB is not a crybaby (haha!). I'm portraying BB as young and innocent (and a little sensitive). In this case, when some people get really mad, they cry.**

 **Next chapter will be the Takeover event: Finn vs. Tye. What will happen? Who knows?**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**


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